By Monica Alleven
Research In Motion (RIM) settled its
years-old patent battle with Visto, but it didn’t do a lot for its shares, which were up only about 2 percent after yesterday’s news.
BlackBerry maker RIM will pay Visto $267.5 million to settle the litigation and get a perpetual license on all Visto patents. The settlement is expected to be completed next week.
Visto completed its acquisition of Good Technology from Motorola in March and
changed its name to Good Technology. In May, the privately held company
acquired Intercasting Corp., the mobile social networking company.
UBS Equity Research viewed the Visto settlement as a positive for RIM, removing a potential overhang and possibly lowering RIM’s legal costs. UBS also said nationwide checks of Verizon Wireless stores indicate early demand for the BlackBerry Tour, which went on sale July 12 through Verizon and Sprint.
RIM shares, at around $71.50, were trading slightly lower today after the market opened.