Key Patent Innovations Ltd and its subsidiary Malikie Innovations Ltd, both based in Dublin, have entered into an agreement with Canadian mobile phone company BlackBerry in March. The deal involves the acquisition of approximately 32,000 patents and patent applications for $170 million (€154.4 million).
The primary business of this Irish company is to acquire technology patents and then license them to other companies, thereby monetizing the intellectual property.
However, Catapult IP Innovations, a patent holding firm from the US, has challenged the validity of this deal with BlackBerry. They claim to have had a pre-existing agreement with BlackBerry to acquire these patents.
To address this issue, Catapult filed a legal action against Malikie in the state of Virginia. Their aim is to compel the Irish company to join arbitration talks with BlackBerry. Catapult alleges that BlackBerry backed out of the original deal in favor of Malikie, and accuses the Irish company of being aware of the existing agreement.
Catapult’s request is to “reconvey the patents to BlackBerry in exchange for BlackBerry returning the purchase price paid by Malikie,” with the intention of unwinding the deal.
Addressing the allegations, a BlackBerry spokesman stated, “‘These claims are without merit and we intend to defend ourselves vigorously.” Both Malikie’s parent company, Key Patent Innovations, and BlackBerry deny all of Catapult’s claims.
Meanwhile, a representative from Key Patent Innovations expressed their stance. They clarified that their firm is not involved in the arbitration proceedings between Catapult and BlackBerry. They also questioned Catapult’s decision to involve Malikie in their dispute with BlackBerry and emphasized that there is no legal or factual basis to do so.
Regarding the sale of these patents, BlackBerry sold its “non-core patents and patent applications” for an upfront payment of $170 million, with an additional $30 million to be paid within three years.
Following the announcement of the deal, Angela Quinlan, the managing director of Key Patent Innovations, highlighted their efforts to showcase the value of these patented inventions to potential licensees. She mentioned that they have made several new hires with expertise in monetizing patents and are currently engaged in discussions with companies interested in utilizing these patents.
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