Feb 23 2005

WASHINGTON (From Reuters)

The federal judge overseeing the patent infringement case against the maker of the BlackBerry portable e-mail device on Tuesday rejected a request by the U.S. Justice Department to hold additional proceedings on how to exempt government users from a potential shutdown of BlackBerry service.

U.S. District Judge James Spencer turned down a request by the Justice Department to hold a separate hearing to delve into the department's concerns about the potential shutdown, according to an order posted on the court's Web site.

Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM is trying to fend off a shutdown sought by the plaintiff in the case, patent holding company NTP Inc. NTP won a 2003 patent infringement ruling against RIM in federal court in Richmond, Virginia.

The decision was a boost to the plaintiff in the case, U.S. patent holding company NTP Inc., because further court proceedings could have delayed the case against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research)(RIMM.O: Quote, Profile, Research).

"It's consistent with Judge Spencer's (earlier) announcement that he wants to wrap this case up -- not prolong it," NTP lawyer James Wallace said of the decision.

A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment on the decision.

Spencer is scheduled to hear arguments from both sides in a crucial hearing on Friday as the judge considers whether to grant NTP's request for a U.S. BlackBerry shutdown.

In a February 1 filing with Spencer, the Justice Department expressed serious concerns about how a shutdown would affect government BlackBerry users.

NTP has insisted information from RIM or wireless carriers could be used to create a "white list" of exempt government users.

However, RIM's lawyers have argued that Spencer should refrain from imposing any injunction for a number of reasons, including an "exceptional public interest" in maintaining uninterrupted BlackBerry service for national security officials and other government workers.

RIM shares were up $1.92, or 2.7 percent, at $74.15 on the Nasdaq.