RIM Close to NTP Patent 'Workaround'

RIM said Monday that it expects to have a workaround completed soon that may stave off a potential shutdown if it loses a patent battle with NTP. The company's co-CEO Jim Balsillie told Reuters in an interview that RIM would "keep our business going as we always have, always will."

The maker of the popular BlackBerry e-mail device has received some good news in recent weeks, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office found two NTP patents invalid last week in a "non-final action." The company still has three valid patents that are still being examined.

Legal options for RIM have largely run out following a late November ruling where U.S. District Judge James Spencer refused to enforce a $450 million settlement between the two companies. This would effectively open the doors for NTP to ask that a 2003 injunction be enforced that would shut down RIM.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office initially rejected all five patents earlier this year, prompting that settlement. However, the two sides never completely agreed to the terms. Balsillie would not say if RIM and NTP were back at the bargaining table.

In a opinion column written for the Wall Street Journal Monday, he did mention the prospect of a settlement while criticizing NTP's tactics in the dispute.

"The NTP lawyers have been blinded by their ambitions to the point where they turned down one of the largest settlement offers in history and a royalty rate that is 10 to 20 times higher than industry norms for uncontested patent portfolios," he wrote.

"Many people believe that a reasonable settlement is in the best interests of both parties. And as wrongful as we think the current situation is, we've been making serious attempts in good faith to do just that."