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Ruling Puts BlackBerry Maker at Crossroads
The Department of Justice has asked for a 90-day grace period for federal workers if Research in Motion's BlackBerry e-mail service is shut down.
(By Spencer Platt -- Getty Images)
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"[RIM] better settle ASAP and take this issue off the table," said O'Keefe, a frequent traveler who said he's constantly checking his BlackBerry for updates and information from clients. "I'm not going to go back to sitting at my desk 24 hours a day," he said, adding that he also won't wait much longer before buying another device if the case isn't settled.
Likewise, Tricia Lilly was forced to imagine life without her BlackBerry, which keeps her connected to clients, distributors, subcontractors and friends.
"It's a frightening prospect," said Lilly, director of product development for McLean real estate development firm Lilly Homes Inc. Without it, she'd have to shuttle into the office and into Kinko's to check her e-mail periodically -- which seems like a laughable inconvenience, she said.
RIM's software and its BlackBerry hardware still dominate the wireless e-mail market, but that success has spawned rapidly growing competition from companies such as Good Technology Inc., Microsoft Corp., Intellisync Corp., and device makers Palm Inc. and Nokia Corp.
"We've seen a heightened level of concern from customers," Terry Austin, president of worldwide sales and marketing for Good Technology, which licenses NTP's technology, said in an e-mailed statement. "Many want a back-up plan, and all want to minimize their risk with a wireless messaging system that is future proof."
RIM, which is based in Ontario, has asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to review the validity of NTP's patents and also has asked the Supreme Court to hear its case. In a statement yesterday, the company said it would argue against the injunction, citing "public interest concerns relating to any potential suspension or interruption of BlackBerry service" as part of its argument.
"As a contingency, RIM has also been preparing software workaround designs which it intends to implement if necessary to maintain the operation of BlackBerry service," the company said.
A company spokeswoman would not discuss the work-around, and analysts said it is unclear whether such a technical fix will sufficiently prevent disruption in service.
"Maybe they have a work-around, but I don't have time to think about that," said Jeffrey J. Kimbell, a health care lobbyist and president of an entertainment company.
Kimbell says the RIM patent case has been as important to him as the Supreme Court's Bush v. Gore presidential vote recount case in 2000.
"Everybody in the business community has followed this case," he said. "Everybody in business has a BlackBerry. It is simply part of the new economy."
