In this week's issue Newsweek has an excellent piece on the recent settlement between Research In Motion and NTP. In the article Steven Levy makes a case for major issues with the US Patent System. It also confirms that the agreement RIM was forced to make does not include a payback clause if the USPTO completely absolves NTP's patents.
Will NTP have to refund any of the payment if its appeals fail, and its key patents are gone? No. "NTP wouldn't do that because the money would come right back to us," says Balsillie. "The chance that those patents will survive are zero." The lesson? "There's an urgent need for patent reform. We don't feel good about this."
Since making the $612.5 million payment, stock in RIM [RIMM] has increased $10 a share.