No BlackBerry shutdown - for now

More than three million US BlackBerry users won't lose their service - at least for now.

In a hearing on Friday, US District Judge James Spencer decided against issuing an immediate ruling on whether to impose an injunction that would shut down sales and service of the popular mobile email devices in the US. But what remains clear, he said, is that the jury verdict in NTP's case against RIM for patent infringement, nearly four years ago, "has not changed in any substantial or substantive way".

During the hearing, lawyers for NTP asked Spencer to issue an updated $126m judgment against the BlackBerry manufacturer, calculating that figure based on methodology used by the jury, which initially awarded it $23m in damages. NTP also called for an injunction against RIM's US service for violating patents.

Lawyers for RIM argued fervently against any injunction, basing their defence largely on the idea that doing so would undermine the public interest. They noted that the company was willing to hand over damages if the validity of NTP's patents was upheld but argued for a new trial to calculate the appropriate amount.

After nearly four hours of arguments from each company and the US Justice Department, Spencer said he would take the matter under advisement and reveal his decision "as soon as reasonably possible".

Spencer said he expects to release an order related to the damages before releasing one related to the injunction. He wants "to make sure the government and its needs are met" before making the latter decision, he said.

The judge, who has been vocal about his desire to conclude the proceedings, scolded the companies for not coming to a settlement on their own.

Spencer said: "In plain words, the case should have been settled but it hasn't, so I have to deal with that reality," adding that he thought the matter was a "business decision" and was surprised the companies opted to leave the decision with the courts.

RIM's co-chief executive officer, Jim Balsillie, said in an interview with silicon.com sister site CNET News.com after Friday's hearing: "Settlement has never been an option for us." On Thursday, Balsillie told attendees at the RBC Capital Markets conference that NTP's licensing terms were far too prohibitive to accept, which NTP has denied.

Friday's hearing came as RIM has been fighting to limit the damage from a 2002 jury verdict which found that it infringed on several of NTP's patents related to mobile email communications.

In 2003, Spencer imposed an injunction on the sale and support of BlackBerry devices in the US but he stayed that injunction, pending the appeals process. Spencer also increased the damages awarded by a jury as a result of misconduct by RIM's lawyers during the trial and ordered the company to put 8.55 per cent of its quarterly revenue into an escrow account, pending the appeals process.

A federal appeals court lifted the injunction and sent the case back to a lower court in 2004, though it agreed that most of NTP's patent claims are infringed by the BlackBerry system. With that basic question of infringement appearing to be settled, the debate has turned to two other areas: the patent re-examination process and RIM's "work-around".

RIM has been playing a waiting game, hoping to convince Spencer to avoid entering an injunction until the patent review process is complete. Spencer denied a similar request to stay the trial, pending the review process in November but RIM believes the uncertainty around the patents should prevent a new injunction.

During their arguments on Friday, RIM attorneys repeatedly said the US Patent and Trademark Office has declared NTP's patents invalid. The Patent Office as of Friday had issued a "final office action" for two of the five patents at issue in the trial. The other three have only received non-final decisions but they are expected to get the final rejection sometime soon.

A "final" decision isn't completely final, as NTP has the right to appeal those actions to a three-judge panel at the Patent Office, as well as to a federal appeals court, before the patents are struck down.

But NTP will still be entitled to any damages awarded as part of Friday's hearing. Damages awarded for patent infringement through a trial are still valid, even if the patents are later struck down. NTP would lose the right to seek future damages but it could collect the almost $250m currently sitting in escrow without having to pay it back later.

NTP said in a statement released soon after the hearing: "Contrary to RIM's public stance, we always have and continue to offer RIM a licence that fully protects everyone - its customers, carriers and partners. RIM has rejected our efforts, stalled the proceedings and attempted to undermine the process every step of the way."

Balsillie said he was "very, very happy" with the hearing but was not sure when a ruling would emerge from Spencer's chambers. "We look forward to getting this decided. We're comfortable with the contingency plans."

Anne Broache writes for CNET News.com