Patent Battle Breaks Out Between Motorola, RIM

A patent battle has flared between BlackBerry maker RIM and Motorola after the two failed to agree on terms to renew an existing licensing agreement, reports the Wall Street Journal.The friction comes as each company is intruding into the other's turf: Motorola by building Blackberry-like email devices, RIM by developing cell phones.

RIM filed a suit Friday in Texas alleging Motorola infringed on several of its patents and charged “exorbitant” fees for licensing crucial wireless technology. Motorola, meanwhile, filed suits in Texas and Delaware Friday. It claims RIM violated its patents, including those on controlling access to new applications on a wireless device, and asks the courts to rule it didn't infringe on RIM's own patents. (More Motorola stories.)