Eminent (Digital) Domain - The RIM Problem

Well, it was bound to happen. Eminent domain is not new. For many years, the property of individuals has been condemned by the civil government (local, state or federal) in order to acquire it for some needed public works project -- a bridge, a highway, whatever... The only consolation for the loser, er, uhh, property owner was that they were to be given fair compensation for their property loss.

Recently, there has been a lot of hubbub in the news about the use of eminent domain to take property from the little guy and transfer ownership to some big business entity to be used for something that gives a little better tax base for the municipality... taking the property of individuals and selling it to a corporate entity for building a mall or an apartment complex or a condo project so that the city budget can get a little more benefit from it.

Now enter the next frontier. RIM (Blackberry to the folks) has been embroiled in a patent infringement suit with small US company for several years. The case has reached the point where, unless RIM pays a percentage to the patent owner, the entire Blackberry network will be shut down. This does not sit well with those who have become addicted to the little beggars delivering their e-mail here, there and everywhere. I say addicted because users have even nicknamed them "crackberries" (alluding to crack cocaine) because, well, you get the idea... And I admit, they are a wonderful tool to those who need omnipresent email. I know, I support the Blackberry services for a major corporation.

Here is the rub. If NTP's patent holds up in court, and this is still not definitely established, the US government may step in and pull an eminent domain on them. In this sense, they would be condemning the intellectual property of NTP and co-opting it for the "greater good" of Blackberry users everywhere. This stands to obliterate any sense of intellectual property rights. RIAA... maybe you are next.