Related link: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/20/technology/20rim.html

Of the 5 patents at the heart of the RIM and NTP lawsuit, the US Patent Office notified both companies that they’ll likely reject all patents that are under review.

Both companies are trying to spin this their way. From the article:

“It was a resounding rejection of NTP’s position,” James L. Balsillie, R.I.M.’s chairman and co-chief executive said on a telephone interview from the company’s headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario. “The jig is up. I think the world is now starting to realize what is happening.”

Yet somehow the lawyers at NTP see the USPTO’s review of the patents as irrelevant in the current lawsuit:

Mr. Stout and lawyers for NTP said that the two processes were wholly separate, and that an injunction against R.I.M. remained a possibility. “We’re not going to go away silently,” Mr. Stout said. “Unless the case is settled, it keeps on going.”

Hmm. So even though the patent in the dispute are going to be rejected, NTP still wants to move forward with the injunction? IANAL, but I don’t think it’s likely they’ll find much support with that position.