No Decision Yet On BlackBerry

Judge Ends Hearing Without Immediate Ruling On BlackBerry Injunction

(CBS/AP)  A judge ended a hearing over a request for an injunction against the maker of the handheld BlackBerry device without issuing a decision Friday.

During the hearing, NTP Inc., a small patent holding firm that successfully sued Research In Motion, asked U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer to impose an injunction on the service but permit a 30-day grace period so all sides could work out the details of how to exempt government and emergency workers, among other issues.

The Arlington, Va.-based company also recommended that the judge immediately halt sales of new BlackBerry devices and award it $126 million in damages, for starters. RIM has deposited $250 million or more in escrow, and NTP says that pot of money should be reserved just in case newer BlackBerry devices infringe on its patents.

"This is a self-inflicted situation," said NTP attorney James H. Wallace Jr., who compared RIM to a squatter who continued to live rent-free. "It's just time to pay up."

Henry C. Bunsow, an attorney for Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM, argued against the injunction, saying it would not be in the public's best interests. The process of exempting government and emergency employees from the BlackBerry ban would prove difficult and problematic, he said.

"It will take a lot of time," Bunsow said. "It will take a lot of effort."

Bunsow also pointed to a number of critical users who would not be exempted. including hospitals, large government contractors, energy companies and financial institutions. Over the years, he said, BlackBerry use has become so prevalent that the device has become part of the country's infrastructure.

CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen expects "we'll still see some sort of a deal – there is just too much money involved. And I think both sides here are playing with fire a bit if they do not settle.

Cohen adds, "RIM is not without some decent legal patent arguments, but of course the injunction that did not come today could come soon and force the company to undertake this workaround that as a technical matter raises lots of concerns for and by Blackberry users."

At the end of the hearing Spencer said he would rule as soon as possible but provided no timetable. He also said that, if he ordered an injunction, he would make sure that the government's needs were met.