Will the Sky Fall In if RIM Loses?

Several years ago I couldn’t imagine a senior partner in a major law firm that wouldn’t want to equip his important partners and associates with a BlackBerry unit where they would be at his beck and call 24/7. I also couldn’t imagine many of these senior partners carrying a BlackBerry themselves.

So I’ve been watching the little patent dustup involving the Canadian RIM (Research In Motion — the BlackBerry developers) and NTP, one of those firms that buy up unperforming or underperforming patents with an towards hitting it big if someone was somehow using the technology and not paying for it. The Supreme Court has just denied an appeal of the Circuit Court approval of an injunction against RIM, but the PTO is re-examining the base patent, and preliminary findings indicate that NTP may not have a legal leg to stand on, so RIM could be vindicated. However, although I’m not a patent lawyer, I’m not too impressed by NTP’s the world will fall apart if this injunction stands defense.
Legal Technology News reports

Legal Technology - RIM: BlackBerry E-Mail Service Is Critical to U.S.
Research In Motion Ltd. says its BlackBerry e-mail device is so critical that a court-ordered shutdown of U.S. service could threaten public safety and business productivity.

The Canadian company is trying to avoid a possible injunction, the result of a long-running infringement case won by NTP Inc., a tiny patent-holding firm.

In a filing Tuesday in federal court in Richmond, Va., RIM argued that there is “exceptional public interest” in keeping BlackBerrys beeping. And the idea of exempting government and emergency users from an injunction — which NTP has suggested — would result in errors, RIM said.

(Thanks to Grant Griffiths for the link, and Lyle Denniston at Scotusblog for the details.)

The last time I tested a BlackBerry the wireless service was very good where I hang out. Run the whole thing through your exchange server, and tighten up your blacklists and whitelists to eliminate the SPAM that accumulates everywhere and set the thing on vibrate to avoid those nasty looks from the Judge or whoever, and the system is very useful, no question.

But things have changed in the last couple of years, and there are alternatives, from the Treos and WiFi Palms to well connected and very light laptops and, of course, the ubiquitous cell phone. I don’t think the sky will fall if RIM is put out of business. And, of course, I’m sure that NTP doesn’t really want RIM out of business. All they want is a minor piece of the cash flow from RIM’s business. Not pleasant for RIM, certainly, and I can understand why the company is fighting so hard. I won’t predict what the courts or the Patent Office will do, but I can say that even if it all goes against RIM, the BlackBerry service will live on, even if RIM makes 6 or 8 percent less, or if customers pay 6 or 8 percent more.  More to come.
In the meantime, the company’s new smaller, more colorful units look great, there’s more choice in data service, and I’ll have to try to get one for review.