District Court Denies Attempt to Stay Proceedings and Rejects a Purported Settlement in Blackberry Patent Dispute

November 30, 2005

Washington, DC—In NTP v. Research in Motion, U.S. District Court Judge James R. Spencer has ruled that the two parties did not reach a purported financial settlement and denied an attempt by Research in Motion (RIMM), the maker of BlackBerry handheld email devices, to stay the case pending the outcome a review by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  

As noted in a press release issued by Wiley Rein & Fielding client NTP, the District Court’s ruling allows the case to continue moving forward to address outstanding issues, including re-confirmation of an injunction that prohibits RIM from selling, using or importing Blackberry hardware and software into the U.S. for the duration of the litigated patents.  The injunction would not affect the use of Blackberry products by federal, state, local government or first responder entities. 

Commenting on the decisions, WRF partner James H. Wallace noted, “It was pretty much as predicted, and it indicates that Judge Spencer is going to move swiftly to conclude the case.  We would hope that these developments would bring the parties back to the table to resolve this matter.”