Blackberry settlement invalidated.

As expected, the court in the long running patent dispute over the Blackberry messaging system has ruled, setting aside the claim by RIM that the parties' settlement agreement for $450M was binding and enforceable. This clears the way for a hearing on the issuance of an injunction against RIM, which would effectively shut down their US operations. At the same time, the patents in suit, held by NTP, have been preliminarily rejected by the USPTO in a re-examination proceeding that is currently underway, but the court refused to stay a ruling on injunctive relief pending completion of the re-exam. Observers believe that RIM may well be forced into paying a substantially higher settlement if it is to avoid disrupting its service.