"This Final Office Action maintains the outright and complete
rejection of all claims in the patent," said RIM in a statement
yesterday.
The USPTO has already issued preliminary rejections in respect
of all three patents involved in the dispute. Together the three
patents contain nine disputed claims. Two of these claims were
found in the patent rejected yesterday, Patent number
6,067,451.
RIM is hoping to fend off an injunction that would prohibit the
Canadian firm from selling in the US the BlackBerry and any other
products, software or services using the wireless technology in
dispute. It could mean a shutdown of service for existing
BlackBerry users in the US.
But despite the granting of a final rejection in respect of one
of the patents, NTP was quick to point out that the USPTO
re-examination process is far from over.
In a statement yesterday, NTP said the review being carried out
by the USPTO is merely the first step in a lengthy process. Any
initial determinations are subject to review by the USPTO Board of
Patent Appeals, and if necessary, by the federal court system.
“The validity of the patents is not affected by preliminary PTO
office actions,” said NTP. “In fact, the PTO itself has previously
taken the position that a patent owner 'is not hindered from full
enjoyment of his patents during re-examination.'"
The case is due to come before District Court Judge James
Spencer tomorrow.
