BlackBerry users safe, for now

Legal verdict put on hold

US users of Research In Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry handsets are safe, at least for the moment, after a court in eastern Virginia delayed its decision regarding a patent dispute last week.

The legal case involves claims from US firm NTP that RIM used patented software in its BlackBerry devices, which could lead to a possible shutdown of all US-based BlackBerrys.

In the hearing held on Friday, the court decided it would wait to assess the full outcome of the US Patents and Trademarks Office’s (USPTO) re-examination of the NTP patents.

Sarah Burnett, senior research analyst at the Butler Group, said: "The USPTO has already given a final rejection on one, and non-final rejections on four other of NTP’s patents. With these rejections the outcome of the case must be tipping in favour of RIM, and against the likelihood of the shutdown."

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