| The battle | The strategy | The outcome | |
| NTP, Inc. | NTP patent lawsuit: 2001-06 | RIM settled a four-year legal skirmish over patent dispute with Virginia-based NTP, Inc. to the tune of $612.5-million (U.S.). | Payoff: RIM gets "unfettered right" to continue BlackBerry service after threats it could be shut down in the U.S. Stock soars. |
| Visto | Visto patent lawsuit: 2006-09 | After three years of legal wrangling on multiple continents, RIM settled Visto's patent claims with a $267.5-million payout. | After three years of legal wrangling on multiple continents, RIM settled Visto's patent claims with a $267.5-million payout. |
| Stocks | Stock-options standoff: 2009 | Following allegations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission they had illegally backdated RIM stock options, Mr. Balsillie, as well as co-accused Mike Lazaridis and two other RIM executives, settled the case with a $1.425-million (U.S.) payout in penalties. | Truce - the four have neither admitted nor denied the SEC's allegations. |
| NHL | Bid for the Phoenix Coyotes: 2009 | Get there first with a bid a bankrupt owner can't refuse - then dig heels in and call indignant NHL a cartel in ensuing battle in bankruptcy court. | Access denied: Following a ruling by Judge Redfield T. Baum that found his $212.5-million bid didn't satisfy U.S. bankruptcy laws, Mr. Balsillie is stuck in line, waiting for the outcome of an auction open only to parties willing to keep the club in Phoenix. |
| Nortel | Bid for Nortel assets:2009 | Claiming Nortel has actively blocked RIM's bid, Mr. Balsillie is demanding the federal government review the auction for the bankrupt company's assets. | Ottawa is calling on Nortel to talk to RIM, but has stopped short of calling Nortel's assets critical to Canada. |
Research In Motion office
RIM's legal timeline: Jim Balsillie's track record of accusations and settlements
Research in Motion's legal battles
Anna Mehler Paperny
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