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Wi-LAN, BlackBerry end patent court fights

BlackBerry is closing its office in Bedford, N.S. in a move that will cut 350 jobs.
BlackBerry is closing its office in Bedford, N.S. in a move that will cut 350 jobs. Lefteris Pitarakis/THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP

BlackBerry has reached its second litigation settlement in less than a month, this time with patent licensing firm Wi-LAN Inc.

An agreement has been made to dismiss all pending patent litigation between the companies, Wi-LAN (TSX:WIN) said on Wednesday.

As part of the agreement, BlackBerry has obtained a licence to certain patents in Florida while licensing discussions will be held on wireless technology that had been under dispute before the courts in Texas.

Read all of the latest BlackBerry news here

Specific financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

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BlackBerry (TSX:BB) is trying to find potential buyers for its struggling operations, which posted a massive loss of nearly a billion dollars in the second quarter as it wrote down the value of unsold BlackBerry Z10 touchscreen smartphones.

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When a company is up for sale, it is common for management to reduce operational uncertainties and that often includes reaching settlements in outstanding lawsuits.

A representative for BlackBerry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this week, it was announced that BlackBerry had settled with the creator of Kik Interactive, the company behind an instant messaging app created by a former intern at the smartphone maker.

Kik issued a release late Monday that said the two Waterloo, Ont., based companies had reached an out-of-court settlement last month. The agreement ended all legal action between them, though none of the details were disclosed.

The smartphone maker filed suit nearly three years ago over Kik’s instant messaging app.

Read More: BlackBerry, Kik Interactive settle lawsuit

Kik was started by a former co-op student at Blackberry in the fall of 2010 — and its app was an instant hit, soon surpassing the popular BlackBerry Messenger Service.

BlackBerry shares were up two cents at $8.25 near midday Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

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