Judge Denies Government’s Request for BlackBerry Hearing

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Judge Denies Government’s Request for BlackBerry Hearing

2:38 pm on February 22, 2006 | Category: Business, Mobile Devices, Law

US District Judge, James Spencer, who is presiding over the RIM/NTP patent lawsuit, has denied a request by the American government for an independent hearing on the negative effects that a possible BlackBerry shutdown would have on government employees.

“This shows that the judge is intent on moving the case along according to schedule,” said Washington DC lawyer, Steve Maebius. “He seems to be laying the groundwork for a very prompt decision.”

Yet despite this impression, many analysts believe just the opposite. In a recent assessment of the case, one research firm predicted that there is a high likelihood that the proceedings could be postponed up to a year.

The ongoing invalidation of NTP’s patents, on which the very case is based, is taking away a lot of merit from their arguments. This could motivate the judge to drag his heels and wait for the final word from the Patent and Trademark Office, although he is by no means obliged to do so.

It’s difficult to tell exactly what’s going through Judge Spencer’s mind right now, but he is the man that will ultimately decide this case, and quite possibly the fate of the wireless email industry.