ITC set investigation against RIM over patent violation

Tuesday, the International Trade Commission announced its intention to probe allegations by Prism Technologies that BlackBerry smartphone maker Research in Motion broke one of its patents.

Prism Technologies providing "Internet Security Technology Management and Licensing," blamed RIM for violating a patent having to do with authentication systems.

RIM's share price did not changed on announcement of the Prism lawsuit as investors worry about patent suits only if the company is short on cash, according to Charter Equity Research analyst Edward Snyder.

RIM has had several legal battles over patents in recent years.

In July, RIM settled a long-running patent dispute with tiny tech company Visto Corp, agreeing to pay Visto $267.5 million to settle all outstanding litigation over technology.

In 2006 it agreed to pay more than $600 million to NTP to settle a damaging and drawn-out patent infringement fight.