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German patent court rules in RIM's favor

Luxembourg-based InPro had claimed that certain BlackBerry products infringed a patent in Germany.

Reuters
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion said on Monday that the federal patent court in Germany had ruled in its favor against patent-holding company InPro.

Shares of Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM shot up C$2.88, or 3.8 percent, to C$78.43 on the Toronto Stock Exchange early on Monday. On Nasdaq, its shares were up $2.55, or 3.9 percent, at $68.29.

RIM said the German patent court had decided that all claims in InPro's German-designated patent were invalid. Luxembourg-based InPro has the right to appeal the decision, RIM said in a statement.

InPro had claimed that certain BlackBerry products infringed a patent in Germany.

The German ruling comes as RIM girds for a hearing on Feb. 24 in a U.S. district court in a long-running battle with U.S. patent-holding firm NTP.

The hearing in Richmond, Va., could be the final legal step before U.S. District Judge James Spencer decides whether to impose an injunction on RIM, which lost a patent infringement suit to NTP. The injunction would force a shutdown of the BlackBerry wireless e-mail system.

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