Final rejection for another NTP patent

The US Patent and Trademark Office on Friday issued a second final rejection of an NTP-held patent at the heart of the long-running BlackBerry dispute.

RIM announced Friday's Patent Office decision in a press release, and a Patent Office representative confirmed the decision. NTP received its first final notice on one of the five patents at issue in the case last Wednesday.

The latest final notice, which can be appealed to both the Patent Office and the federal courts, came on the same day that RIM and NTP were in a much-anticipated hearing arguing over whether an injunction will be imposed on the sale and support of BlackBerry devices in the US.

At Friday's hearing in Richmond, Virginia, 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 BlackBerry in the US - deciding instead to take the matter under advisement and reveal his decision "as soon as reasonably possible".

After failing to win its appeal of a 2002 jury verdict that found RIM's BlackBerry devices infringe on NTP's patents, RIM is hoping Spencer decides to steer clear of an injunction until the patent re-examination process is complete. Three other patents at issue in the case have only received preliminary notices that would invalidate the claims but the final notices for those patents are expected shortly, according to RIM.

However, Spencer has already denied a request from RIM to delay the proceedings pending the re-examination process. Since then, the Patent Office has agreed to expedite its process of issuing the final rejections but the appeals process could still take months or even years to complete.

Tom Krazit writes for CNET News.com