The sad reality is that RIM was successfully "blackmailed" by a two-bit low-life company with aid of a legal system that has been hi-jacked by self-serving trial lawyers, only in it for their own enrichment. SAD!!
R.I.M. would very likely have prevailed in the U.S. court system - but it would have been tied up for years in the process. The financial cost of that fight was bearable; the intellectional cost of the focus of their management team may have been crippling. The settlement was vile and disgusting -- but absolutely necessary, unfortunately. They made a "business decision".
But R.I.M. negotiated a very good settlement to end this mess. They did not give up any future royalties on the sale of the Blackberry or any other product using its underlying technology. And it has clearly come out of this fiasco as the Corporate "good guy" in this dispute. It has had its name and products in the major media spotlight for months - and has come out the undisputed winner. In a corporate world that has had its share of the Enrons, Worldcoms, Healthsouths and other sleazy corporate scum, R.I.M. will come out as a solid, ethical enterprise. Just watch its stock and we will see what the markets think about the company. And that will be how it covers the 612.5 million dollar settlement.
R.I.M. is corporate success story that all Canadians should be proud of. A couple of University of Waterloo grads that took on the high-tech heavyweight of the world --- and are kicking ass!