The federal judge in whose lap this patent idiocy has landed has made a smart decision– not to issue an injunction banning Blackberry service in the USA. However, straddling the fence, the judge admonished RIM, Blackberry’s maker, for not settling with NTP. Too bad NTP’s initials aren’t NPT, then we could call them National Patent Trolls.
The judge, Judge James Spencer, is being whipsawed by the patent lawyer industry, which is attempting to force him to rule Blackberry out of business when the USPTO (the United States Patent Office) has done everything but take out ads in Variety to let people know they plan to rule all of NTP’s patents invalid. The USPTO has, in fact, ruled two of them invalid as a “final” rule. NTP says nothing is final, however.
Clearly, NTP is attempting to get a final ruling from the Judge, and a monetary award, to force a settlement agreement before the patents go away.
NTP’s stand is that they are protecting the rights of the inventor, and the inventor’s widow. But if there really was any interest in protecting the Widow Campana, NTP would have taken any number of RIM’s previous offers.
What does this mean? IF NTP wins, it will set the bar higher for issues, including issues within automation, like the recently concluded Troll War between Schneider and Rockwell. (Yes, Solaia and its law firm, Niro Scavone and Niro, were not owned by Schneider, and Schneider was not overtly a part of the suit…but Solaia’s agreement to pay Schneider a royalty on every settled agreement with Rockwell’s customers certainly made them morally a party to the suit).
And if you use a blackberry? Better hope the Patent Office gets through before the judge does.
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