Research in Motion Wins E-Mail System Patent

Research in Motion Ltd. received a U.S. patent for an e-mail technology that may help protect its BlackBerry pager from being duplicated by rivals.

The patented system allows BlackBerry users to receive messages on their hand-held devices and on their computers through the same e-mail address, the Waterloo, Canada-based company said.

Palm Inc., which makes the best-selling Palm series of hand-held organizers, has said it intends to compete with the BlackBerry, a pager with a tiny keyboard that lets people send and receive e-mail messages.

Research in Motion also filed a suit against Charlotte, N.C.-based Glenayre Technologies Inc. for allegedly infringing the patent. Glenayre makes a wireless hand-held messaging system called AccessLink II. Shares of Research in Motion rose 85 cents, or 1.7%, to close at $34.85 on Nasdaq.