Don’t Dump Your BlackBerry Yet

After losing a decision in U.S. District court Wednesday that ruled that a settlement arrived at between BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) and patent-holder NTP Software was “unenforceable,” RIM won round two in the United States Patent and Trademark Office yesterday, as reported in today’s New York Times.

The patent office issued what it called a non-final action, saying that one of the five patents owned by NTP Software is invalid. Still pending is a reconsideration of another patent that was found to be infringed by RIM.

A final decision on the patents could be years away, said James H. Wallace Jr., a lawyer for NTP. Research in Motion is facing a possible order to halt its BlackBerry service in the United States.

After the news of the District Court decision Wednesday, RIM’s shares dropped $3.79. After yesterday’s news, they rose $3.89, or 6.4 percent, to $65.02 in Nasdaq trading.

–David Rosenbaum