RIM is taking a beating on the smartphone market today with the popularity of its smartphone and tablets dwindling. More and more consumers and business, which were the lifeblood of RIM in the past, are leaving for newer and better devices like the iPhone and Android offerings. Blackberry was dealt another blow when a federal court ruled against it in a trademark claim recently.
 
RIM had been calling its latest OS BBX, but a software company already held that trademark. Basis International Basis sued RIM in U.S. Federal court in Albuquerque NM. The courts have ruled against RIM and declared that it can't use the BBX trademark. That means that RIM couldn't use the name for its OS at the DevCon conference in Asia.
 
Like most tech firms, RIM generally remains quiet about suits and litigation, but it commented this time out to say it had picked a new name for the OS ahead of the conference. RIMs BBX will now be called Blackberry 10. The move means that RIM won't need to pay licensing fees for future use of the BBX name, but it still might be liable for damages for using the trademark in past.
 
RIM issued a statement to Reuters that read, "RIM doesn't typically comment on pending litigation, however RIM has already unveiled a new brand name for its next generation mobile platform. As announced at DevCon Asia, RIM plans to use the 'BlackBerry 10' brand name for its next generation mobile platform."
 
RIM recently fell short of its financial targets thanks in part to very weak sales of the PlayBook tablet. Despite massive price cuts on the PlayBook the tablet has still gained little traction in the tablet market. The PlayBook lacks basic functionality expected of tablets today like integrated email and other capabilities making it unpopular.