RIM's BlackBerry relay server, through which all of its subscribers' e-mails pass, is situated at its headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. That became the basis for RIM to argue that U.S. patent laws have no jurisdiction, even though most of RIM's customers are in the U.S.

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in December 2004 blew RIM's out-of-the-country argument a raspberry, finding infringement within the U.S. According to the Appeals Court, the test for whether infringement took place within the United States focused on whether "control and beneficial use" of the infringing system was within the United States, irrespective that a portion of the patented method occurred outside the U.S. This aspect of the Appeals Court ruling was a clear victory for U.S. patent holders.

The law itself appears rather plain in its intent, and the Appeals Court ruling with regard to jurisdiction simply took the broadest measure of the law. Here's the law:

35 U.S.C. 271 Infringement of patent. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this title, whoever without authority makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells any patented invention, within the United States, or imports into the United States any patented invention during the term of the patent therefor, infringes the patent.

More stories (and different opinions) on this:
Newsday; Reuters; Patently-O: March 16, 2005; January 24, 2005; December 14, 2004; two-seventy-one-patent-blog