RIM Says Patent Office Rejects Two More NTP Patents

TORONTO -(Dow Jones)- Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected two more NTP Inc. patents, providing more ammunition for the BlackBerry maker as it wages a high-stakes legal battle with NTP.

Now seven of the eight NTP patents under review by the patent office have been rejected and a ruling on the remaining patent under review is expected soon, said Research In Motion, or RIM.

"The USPTO has now rejected 100% of the claims of the first seven NTP patents," RIM vice president, corporate marketing, Mark Guibert said in an emailed statement. "The USPTO's outright rejection of these NTP patents certainly corroborates RIM's original contention of invalidity and certainly lessens the arguable value of these patents," Guibert said.

Guibert declined to comment on any effect the patent office rulings may have on a related legal battle between RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, and NTP, a closely held patent concern based in Virginia.

RIM earlier this month rattled investors when it said efforts to finalize a March agreement that had appeared to settle the long-running patent litigation with NTP had broken down. RIM has gone to court to seek enforcement of the agreement, which called for RIM to pay NTP $450 million to settle the dispute. NTP is arguing the agreement was preliminary and said the two sides disagreed over final terms. It is also threatening to seek reinstatement of a previous court order that would shut down BlackBerry sales and service in the U.S. Neither RIM nor NTP have disclosed specifics of the impasse.

Patent holders may respond to rulings such as the patent office's rejection of NTP's patents, and sometimes the rulings are reversed. In response to the patent office's earlier rulings against NTP's patents, NTP this week began filing arguments in support of its patents. NTP is arguing, among other things, that the invention of its wireless email technology predates public disclosure of other competing technology. It also is arguing the "push" aspect of its wireless email technology, where emails are automatically sent to wireless devices, is original.

The patent office's rulings against NTP add another twist in the complex legal battle. It's not clear if a full rejection of NTP's patents could help RIM either enforce the March settlement or alter its terms.

Shares of RIM sank sharply earlier this month when it announced the impasse, but have since regained the lost ground. RIM shares jumped $4.27, or nearly 6%, to $78.35 in 4 p.m. trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

- Mark Heinzl, The Wall Street Journal, 416-306-2014

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 23rd June 2005