Will there be a BlackBerry shutoff? Eight experts tell me
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge James Spencer will hold a hearing on the ongoing patent infringement dispute between BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion and patent holding company NTP.
Based on Judge Spencer’s findings, he may issue an injunction suspending BlackBerry sales and services in the U.S. until RIM and NTP reach a settlement. If that is the case, expect RIM to put their BlackBerry Multi-Mode workaround in place. Or at least try to - NTP may sue to block that, as well.
On the other hand, Judge Spencer may issue an injunction but declare a stay on the injunction until the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues final rulings on the five patents in question.
Alternatively, he may dismiss the case.
With nearly five million BlackBerry users- and many readers- hanging on word of this decision, I have contacted several top BlackBerry experts- financial writers, analysts, journalists, bloggers, etc.- and asked them for their opinions of what is going to happen.