• Reuters, Thursday, February 23, 2006 10:15 AM

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion won another battle Wednesday in its war against patent holder NTP, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a final rejection of one of five disputed patents owned by the holding company, which doesn't actually sell or produce anything. Research in Motion hopes the rejection notice will help the company keep operating its U.S. BlackBerry service. Tomorrow, U.S. District Judge James Spencer will hold a hearing to consider NTP's request to move forward with an injunction that would shut down BlackBerry service in the U.S. RIM said the latest decision from the patent office has been based on "multiple grounds" and the company expects it to withstand future appeals by NTP. However, the patent office's decision is for just one of five patents under dispute; the other four patents have been issued "non-final" rejections. NTP, meanwhile, says it will see through the extensive appeals process, which could take years.

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