A judge in the US has overturned a patent-infringement ruling against Research In Motion (RIM), which is the maker of the popular BlackBerry family of smartphones.

The judge ruled that Mformation Technologies Inc was not able to prove that RIM infringed on a patent held by the company. Mformation is involved in making software for managing mobile devices. A federal judge has earlier awarded Mformation $147.2 million based on findings of infringement allegations.

Mformation has accused RIM of infringement in 2008 of its invention for remotely managing wireless devices. Its software allows companies to remotely access employee smartphones for software update to allow employees to change passwords or wipe out data.

“We appreciate the Judge's careful consideration of this case. RIM did not infringe on Mformation's patent and we are pleased with this victory,” Steve Zipperstein, RIM's chief legal officer, said in a statement Thursday.

Mformation chief executive Todd DeLaughter expressed disappointment over the ruling and stressed that the company still believe that RIM's BlackBerry Enterprise Server software product infringes upon Mformation's '917 patent and that the court will eventually rule in its favor.

Shares of RIM rose 1.5 percent, to $7.74 in early afternoon trading.