The U.S. District Judge James Spencer denied RIM's request to delay any further the NTP's patent infringement case, thus pushing the company closer to a possible a shutdown of its BlackBerry wireless e-mail service in the United States. The judge has also stated that the settlement of $450 million, reached between RIM and the patent holder NTP, Inc in the spring of 2005, is not enforceable. Moreover James Spencer said he would request briefs and set a hearing date to begin proceedings on the remaining patent violations handed back by the appeals court. The U.S. District judge has not yet made a decision on NTP's request for a permanent injunction on the sales and service of RIM devices in U.S., but if he does grant one the company would be forced to pay a hefty fee to keep its U.S. BlackBerry service operational.
Source: News.com
