The lawsuits flying between Motorola Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. offer up
yet another example of just how tenuous the relationship between
licensee and licensor can be, particularly in the technology industry,
where a single product might be underpinned by technology from multiple
companies (check out this Corporate Dealmaker
story on Platform Solutions Inc.'s nasty legal dispute with IBM Corp.).
In
this latest case, Motorola and RIM came to blows after talks collapsed
over the renewal of an agreement in which RIM licensed mission-critical
patents from Motorola. So what's changed from the time the initial
license was signed in 2003 to now? The level of competition between the
companies. Today, both companies have expanded their businesses into
the other's turf.
The timing of this brewing legal battle couldn't be worse for Motorola, which is trying to steady itself after a volley of
troubling news.
- Suzanne Stevens
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