Patent tussle could shut down BlackBerry service in U.S.

(REUTERS) - A U.S. District Court will be asked to reconfirm an injunction that could shut down Research In Motion Ltd.'s (RIM) BlackBerry service in the U.S. after a motion to stay the case was denied, NTP Inc. said today. NTP, which successfully sued RIM for patent infringement in 2002, said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied RIM's motion to stay or suspend the case, pending a request for a U.S. Supreme Court review. Earlier this month, the same U.S. appeals court refused to rehear and reconsider the patent-infringement ruling
(see "Court deals another blow to RIM's appeal hopes").

NTP said the case will move back to the District Court it was first heard in for reconfirmation of the injunction that could halt sales of the BlackBerry e-mail device and shut down RIM's service in the U.S. NTP first won the injunction in 2003, but it was stayed by the judge in the case pending the appeal process. RIM and NTP had reached an agreement in March to settle the dispute for $450 million. That deal fell apart in June, but RIM has said it would ask for court action to enforce the agreement.

Trading of RIM shares was halted pending the news.