No BlackBerry shutoff (for now)
Good news for fellow BlackBerry users — still no need to interact personally with actual humans. For now.
During the hearing, lawyers for NTP asked Spencer to issue an updated $126 million judgment as soon as possible against the BlackBerry manufacturer, covering all of the devices NTP says infringed its patents through November of last year. They also called for an injunction to shut down RIM’s U.S. service.
Spencer did not rule from the bench, saying he would take the matter under advisement. He said he expected to release an order related to the damages before releasing one related to the injunction.
He also scolded the companies for not coming to a settlement on their own.
“In plain words, the case should have been settled, but it hasn’t, so I have to deal with that reality,” Spencer said.
The USPTO has now issued final orders rejecting two of the five patents at issue, with final orders rejecting the remaining patents likely to be issued shortly. RIM would still have to pay damages for the period the patents were valid. Still unresolved, of course, is why the PTO issued the patents in the first place and why patent hoarders like NTP, which produces no actual products, should be rewarded at the expense of companies that actually contribute to the economy.
