By settling with NTP, RIM has eliminated the possibility of suffering that heavy blow.
BBHub - Lesson for all in RIM-NTP dispute: should software be patentable at all?
Balsillie is also appealing a judgment awarding Virginia patent house NTP an 8.5% royalty on U.S. Blackberry sales.
But all the trouble and resultant bad press would probably force RIM to settle quickly--and on NTP's terms.
Or will Spencer decide to delay his ruling in light of recent patent rulings against RIM's archrival, NTP?
Another possible scenario has RIM and NTP settling before Spencer makes his ruling.
The agreement ends a lawsuit from Virginia-based NTP, which alleged that RIM's BlackBerry wireless e-mail service infringed upon their patents.
But at the moment, NTP has the advantage, and it seems unlikely it would cash out before getting a ruling.
Last year a communications catastrophe was avoided when BlackBerry maker Research in Motion agreed to settle with NTP over a patent infringement lawsuit.
But he says he expects Spencer to grant a delay long enough for RIM to keep service running while not infringing on NTP's patents.
In a big ruling in 2002, a jury in Virginia found that, indeed, five patents had been infringed and they gave an award to NTP.
Will RIM CEO James Balsille decide he can't stand the pressure anymore, and just write a big check to NTP to end the long-running conflict?
The hearing was part of an ongoing a lawsuit from Virginia-based NTP , which alleges that RIM's BlackBerry wireless e-mail service infringes upon its patents.
It's a dispute between the Canadian-based maker of BlackBerry, the firm called Research In Motion, and a very small licensing company here in Virginia called NTP.
It came despite aggressive statements made by Balsillie last week: he repeatedly denounced NTP's patent claims and accused the company of being disingenuous in its settlement offers.
In 2001, Virgina-based patent holding company NTP filed suit against RIM, alleging patent infringement, and since then, the case has plugged along through various courts and appeals.
He says the new technology wouldn't infringe on NTP's patents.
Meanwhile, word is out that the US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a final rejection of another NTP patent, following the first such rejection, which occurred earlier this week.
ENGADGET: RIM judge doesn't order shutdown, mulls final decision
The judge also criticized both RIM and rival NTP for not settling the case sooner, leading to speculation that a speedy settlement would convince the judge to make today's decision final.
ENGADGET: RIM judge doesn't order shutdown, mulls final decision
If the work-arounds actually work, that means RIM is under less pressure to sign a costly settlement with NTP and can continue to fight the case in court or haggle for a cheaper deal.
Complicating RIM's prospects is the likelihood that even if it can get a good settlement, the company will be hit with lawsuits from shareholders angry that it spent so much time and money to fight NTP's claim.
Wireless email giant Research In Motion has taken a big hit in its long running legal dispute with NTP, and now faces the prospect of paying more than a billion dollars to get itself out of trouble.
In 2001, Virgina-based patent holding company NTP filed suit against RIM (nasdaq: RIMM - news - people ), alleging patent infringement, and since then, the case has plugged along through various courts and appeals.
Criticism over unseemly influence from corporate sponsors forced the NTP to revise its study, but a draft of its new report (published earlier this year) came to many of the same conclusions much to the chemical industry's relief.
Earlier this week, NTP co-founder Donald Stout told the press that RIM could avoid that fate if it makes one giant payment, no strings attached, for 5.7% of RIM's projected U.S. sales through the life of the contested patents, which expire in 2012.
The pressure is on RIM Co-Chief Executive JamesBalsillieJames Balsillie to quickly resolve his company's patent dispute with NTP , and now the maker of the popular BlackBerry wireless email devices has returned to the bargaining table and is engaging in settlement talks through a court-appointed mediator.
You'll have to read the Times profile for the full story, but whether or not NTP acted ethically (or illegally), or preyed on Goodfellow's disdain for patents or his free-market attitude isn't exactly making the bad taste in our mouths from the settlement taste any better.
ENGADGET: Geoff Goodfellow, early inventor of wireless email, profiled
And in the meantime, BlackBerry is relying on very recent rulings that are coming out of the United States Patent Office, who are re-evaluating the patents held by NTP and saying, at least preliminarily, that these patents are not valid, which would make the whole case go away.
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