ROCKS OFF - The Rolling Stones Message Board
A Bigger Bang Tour 2007

Palazzo del Ghiaccio, Milano, Italia - 8 Aprile del 1967
© Giovanni Liverani with special thanks to Gypsy!
[ ROCKSOFF.ORG ] [ IORR NEWS ] [ SETLISTS 1962-2006 ] [ FORO EN ESPAÑOL ] [ BIT TORRENT TRACKER ] [ BIT TORRENT HELP ] [ BIRTHDAY'S LIST ] [ MICK JAGGER ] [ KEITHFUCIUS ] [ CHARLIE WATTS ] [ RONNIE WOOD ] [ BRIAN JONES ] [ MICK TAYLOR ] [ BILL WYMAN ] [ IAN "STU" STEWART ] [ NICKY HOPKINS ] [ MERRY CLAYTON ] [ IAN 'MAC' McLAGAN ] [ LINKS ] [ PHOTOS ] [ JIMI HENDRIX ] [ TEMPLE ] [GUESTBOOK ] [ ADMIN ]
CHAT ROOM aka The Fun HOUSE Rest rooms last days
ROCKS OFF - The Rolling Stones Message Board
Register | Update Profile | F.A.Q. | Admin Control Panel

Topic: Rolling Stones Edition Blackberry Return to archive
16th May 2007 07:36 AM
moy Rolling Stones Edition Blackberry: Maybe
May 15 Matt Hickey

RIM is no stranger to the courtroom, having spent the better part of its existence defending its patents, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. The latest litigation towards the Blackberry maker comes from an unlikely source, though: The Rolling Stones. That’s not the news, however. The news is why Mick and company are sicking the lawyers on RIM. It seems that RIM had an idea for a Rolling Stones-edition Blackberry, paid the licensing fees, and then scrapped the plans, orphaning the project, and thereby the royalties the Stones would have earned.

While we think the Brits here just being pithy, let’s look at the broader thing: The Blackberry is a business handset, and that is all. Without the RIM backend, it’s just a phone with a funny keypad. What we don’t get is what it is about the Rolling Stones that says “I’m a respectable businessperson.” Maybe it’s the gazillions of dollars the boys have, but we think it’s a bad idea. Beatles on the iPod, it’s not.

So if the Stones win in court, there might be a Stones special edition BB. Great. Would you buy one? We wouldn’t.

----------------------------------------------------------

Mick and the lads say: Hey, RIM, get off my cloud
SIMON AVERY

TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

May 15, 2007

Beaten up in the U.S. courts by patent trolls, Research In Motion Ltd. finds itself being dragged back into the arena by a posse of aging rockers.

The Canadian technology giant has irked Mick, Keith, Ron and Charlie after allegedly signing up the business-savvy Rolling Stones to promote a special version of the BlackBerry - and then not following through.

"It was to be a branded Rolling Stones BlackBerry," said Vincent Chieffo, a Los Angeles lawyer representing the band's licensing firm, RST Inc.

After paying an initial licence fee in full, however, RIM chose not to produce the device, RST claims in a lawsuit seeking $5-million (U.S.) in damages.

That's small change for a band estimated to earn $90-million a year.

It's also significantly less than the $612.5-million RIM paid to settle a patent infringement suit last year against tiny NTP Inc.

But RIM executives may find the Rolling Stones to be an equally tough act. The band's experience with the tech industry dates back to when it sold rights to its 1981 hit Start Me Up to Microsoft Corp. for the launch of the Windows 95 operating system.

RIM, based in Waterloo, Ont., has made its fortune on the business market and has shifted some of its sights to the mass consumer market, with the launch last September of the BlackBerry Pearl. But there were no answers yesterday on why RIM may have decided to forgo a product launch with four of the most famous faces of rock 'n' roll: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood and Charlie Watts.

"As to what reasons were given for not producing it, I'm not aware whether any reasons were given," Mr. Chieffo said in a telephone interview. "Whatever they were planning to do, they didn't appear to do it."

RIM's spokespeople in Waterloo and New York did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

RST alleges the Canadian company signed an exclusive licence agreement for "specific intellectual property and rights of publicity relating to the Rolling Stones for use in connection with a limited edition, Rolling Stones-branded BlackBerry wireless telephone," the firm said in a filing made Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Lawyers for RST said the licence agreement with RIM has ended. Mr. Chieffo declined to give any specifics about the arrangement, including how much RIM paid up front.

An exclusive agreement with the Rolling Stones in the telecom space as outlined in the suit would have prevented the band from lending its name to other big names in the intensely competitive wireless space, including Apple Inc.

Apple is preparing to launch its first phone next month, and analysts expect the iPhone to be a mighty competitor in the consumer smart phone space.

Two years before RST says it signed a deal with RIM, Mr. Jagger joined Steve Jobs by video conference to promote the launch of Apple's iTunes music software for Windows computers.

In this era of celebrity promotions, officials at RIM have always preferred to let their wireless technology speak for itself. The company has for some time hinted at deals in the works with the entertainment industry, but for now is letting its two co-chief executive officers be the face of RIM. Mike Lazaridis, co-inventor of the BlackBerry, is the scientific wunderkind behind the firm. Jim Balsillie is the business and marketing leader, representing the company before telecom industry officials and in the financial community.

16th May 2007 08:46 AM
Lazy Bones
quote:
moy wrote:

RIM, based in Waterloo, Ont.,




And I must say, a fine community!
16th May 2007 10:25 AM
gimmekeef
quote:
Lazy Bones wrote:


And I must say, a fine community!



Yes it is Lazy!!!!!..But this RIM suit doesnt bode well for the Stones coming to The Aud....anytime soon!
16th May 2007 10:27 AM
gimmekeef Now they have me scared...I was thinking about flying to Europe this summer but then changed my mind....Will they take me to court now?
16th May 2007 11:11 AM
Lazy Bones
quote:
gimmekeef wrote:


Yes it is Lazy!!!!!..But this RIM suit doesnt bode well for the Stones coming to The Aud....anytime soon!



LOL...Dylan played there in 81!
16th May 2007 11:39 AM
gimmekeef
quote:
Lazy Bones wrote:


LOL...Dylan played there in 81!



Gonna really date myself now..But I remember seein Johnny Winter there..and way back in 70's James Gang with White Trash opening....killer show...From what I remember anyway...LOL
16th May 2007 01:47 PM
Strange_Stray_Cat My boss got me a HTC P3600 .
16th May 2007 03:08 PM
Saint Sway who needs a Rolling Stones Blackberry??

fuck that! This little baby was rated 5 Stars by Consumer Reports and comes with local crack dealers phone numbers already pre-set on speed dial.

16th May 2007 03:12 PM
Strange_Stray_Cat Mine is cooler. Has GPS too.
16th May 2007 03:13 PM
TampabayStone
quote:
Saint Sway wrote:
who needs a Rolling Stones Blackberry??

fuck that! This little baby was rated 5 Stars by Consumer Reports and comes with local crack dealers phone numbers already pre-set on speed dial.




Damn, where in the hell did you find that??? Funny...
16th May 2007 03:22 PM
Saint Sway
quote:
TampabayStone wrote:

Damn, where in the hell did you find that??? Funny...



believe it or not, I've only just begun to scratch the surface of my Van Humiliation photo collection
16th May 2007 03:27 PM
TampabayStone
quote:
Saint Sway wrote:


believe it or not, I've only just begun to scratch the surface of my Van Humiliation photo collection


I envy you. Must be nice knowing you always have some Van Huly in the chamber ready to go at any moment. One less thing to worry about.
16th May 2007 03:35 PM
Saint Sway
quote:
TampabayStone wrote:

I envy you. Must be nice knowing you always have some Van Huly in the chamber ready to go at any moment. One less thing to worry about.



oh please, I just do it to bust Some Guys marbles (I miss that dude).

Of course, I'd trade it all in an nano second for your badunkadunk collection


"Van Huly" LOL! I like that!

it goes so well with shots like this:


^ Miami Vice: The Van Huly Years

Search for information in the wet page, the archives and this board:

PicoSearch
The Rolling Stones World Tour 2005 Rolling Stones Bigger Bang Tour 2005 2006 Rolling Stones Forum - Rolling Stones Message Board - Mick Jagger - Keith Richards - Brian Jones - Charlie Watts - Ian Stewart - Stu - Bill Wyman - Mick Taylor - Ronnie Wood - Ron Wood - Rolling Stones 2005 Tour - Farewell Tour - Rolling Stones: Onstage World Tour A Bigger Bang US Tour

NEW: SEARCH ZONE:
Search for goods, you'll find the impossible collector's item!!!
Enter artist an start searching using "Power Search" (RECOMMENDED)