RIM settles lawsuit with Dolby, agrees to pay royalties

As if Research In Motion doesn't already have enough trouble on its hands, the Waterloo company must now pay patent royalties to Dolby Laboratorties as part of settling infringement lawsuits filed in June.

RIM will be paying roughly $15 million to Dolby in its fiscal fourth quarter, plus interest income. Dolby, the inventor of surround sound, claimed RIM used its technology in its PlayBook tablet and BlackBerry smartphones while refusing to sign a licensing agreement. RIM signed a license agreement with Via Licensing, which handles Dolby patents, after the lawsuits were filed.

“We are pleased to welcome RIM into Dolby’s family of mobile-technology licensees,” Dolby General Counsel Andy Sherman said in a statement. “We believe in and will continue to protect the value of our intellectual property.”

78% of Dolby's revenue comes from licensing revenue. Its shares have dropped over 50% this year.