US BlackBerry service in suspended animation

US BlackBerry service in suspended animation

WASHINGTON - There is a danger that Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of the popular hand-held BlackBerry, would have to shut down its service in the United States after the patents issue with NTP does not look like being solved anytime in the near future.

Rather than continue to indulge in legalities, NTP has moved aggressively ahead and has forged a partnership with RIM rival Visto. This agreement allows the latter to use NTP's technology to send wireless e-mail. This is the very same technology that has NTP up in arms with RIM. Analysts argue that RIM has to take the next step now and settle the case once and for all. Because if Visto begins operations and RIM continues to run around courts, BlackBerry is as good as finished.

RIM had offered $450 million as a settlement fees to NTP in June and has willingly taken to the court in the hope that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) will move against NTP's patents. This is increasingly looking a hopeless proposition. It is now estimated that RIM would have to part with $1 billion to settle the case.

There are 3.65 million BlackBerry users in the United States and these users are anxious for some answers. The share prices have plummeted by 21 percent in just this year. It is also rumored that NTP wants a 5.7 percent share of the sales of all future BlackBerry services.

This is exactly what was ordered by a Federal Court in 2002. Now with the signing of the new agreement, NTP is likely to argue that users have an alternative. "I understand that theory, and when BlackBerry was the only game in town, there was certain logic to it," said James Wallace, a lawyer for NTP.

However, RIM has assured subscribers that an alternative workaround solution is in place should the court grant an injunction against it. RIM is also questioning the timing of the Visto deal, "This is a small player looking for free publicity through a last-minute license with undisclosed terms for patents that have been rejected by the patent office," said Mark Guibert, a vice president of corporate marketing at RIM.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based Company also said that it wants to "assure subscribers that we have prepared a contingency plan to implement a software workaround should it eventually become necessary."