The cloud of bad news around the BlackBerry PlayBook launch has got bigger with Dolby Laboratories suing RIM for patent infringement. The audio technology firm says RIM is willfully infringing on a grab bag of its patents.
Dolby says the technology is used in a number of BlackBerry phones and the BlackBerry PlayBook. It also claims that all the other major smartphone and tablet makers, including Apple, license the same technology.
It says the lawsuit was a last resort after RIM declined to pay and it wants damages and BlackBerry Playbook sales halted. That’s not likely to happen soon – lawsuits of this kind can grind on for years – but it’s another headache RIM could do without.
