Business |
RIM signs license agreement covering dolby audio technologies
Research in Motion (RIM) agreed to enter into a license agreement for its use of Dolby’s advanced audio technologies that were the subject of two lawsuits recently filed by Dolby against RIM. As a result, those cases were dismissed based on agreement between the parties.
“We are pleased to welcome RIM into Dolby’s family of mobile technology licensees. We believe in and will continue to protect the value of our intellectual property,” said Andy Sherman, executive vice president and general counsel of Dolby.
RIM obtained its license through Via Licensing Corporation, a Dolby subsidiary that licenses patents essential to the HE AAC international standard on behalf of multiple essential patent owners. Dolby’s patented audio compression technologies contribute to that standard. RIM employs HE AAC technologies in its Blackberry smart phones and Playbook tablet devices.
On June 15, 2011, Dolby filed lawsuits against RIM that focused on RIM’s use of Dolby’s industry-leading audio technologies. The suits were filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, CA, and in the Mannheim District Court in Mannheim, Germany.
As Dolby disclosed during its third quarter earnings call on August 4, 2011, RIM signed a license agreement shortly after the lawsuits were filed. The license agreement is on the standard terms offered by Via Licensing and covers the implementation of the HE AAC standard, including use of Dolby’s audio compression technologies in RIM’s smart phone and tablet devices.
