Blackberry Not to Be Shut Down

The U.S. judge over the BlackBerry lawsuit has not ordered an immediate shutdown of the service. BlackBerry provides e-mail service to millions of users however the manufacturer (Research in Motion Ltd.) has infringed upon patents of NTP Inc. RIM argued that a shutdown of their service would "hobble critical public services and infrastructure", as reported by Reuters this morning. However RIM has also claimed they have a software work-around which would keep service from being disrupted. The judge has indicated the companies should have settled out of court because it was obvious RIM had infringed upon the NTP patents and should make restitution as previously ordered in court.

The lawsuit has been going on for over 4 years. Analysts suggest RIM may end up paying $1 billion dollars in a settlement at this point. Blackberry users are hoping the service will not be shut down and force them to switch to other less desirable service providers.