RIM Says BlackBerry Backup Plan Is Ready

Research in Motion Ltd. on Thursday unveiled a plan to keep its BlackBerry e-mail devices working in the U.S. even if it loses a patent fight.

With the clock ticking toward a Feb. 24 court hearing on a request by U.S. patent holding company NTP Inc. for an order halting U.S. BlackBerry service, RIM also said it was still willing to negotiate a deal.

NTP questioned why RIM didn’t go ahead and make software changes for the workaround and challenged the BlackBerry maker to provide details. “To tell the world they have a workaround without sharing what it is, to me, suggests they’re not comfortable with it,” said NTP co-founder Don Stout.

The legal battle is heating up ahead of a hearing that could be the final step before U.S. District Judge James Spencer decides whether to impose an injunction granting NTP’s request -- potentially shutting off more than 3 million U.S. BlackBerry subscribers.

RIM, based in Waterloo, Canada, said it was willing to “generously compensate” NTP, but called NTP’s offer to license disputed technology “untenable.”

NTP sued RIM for patent infringement in 2002 and won an injunction in 2003 to shut down the U.S. service. That injunction was stayed pending appeals.

RIM stock rose 97 cents to $69.62.

The company says it has developed and tested workaround software for all BlackBerry handsets in the U.S. and will activate changes if there is an injunction. It said the workaround altered the way e-mail messages were delivered and queued, but “users will not see any changes in the way they use the device.”

RIM says it has filed patent applications for its workaround and will soon begin shipping handsets with the software update in a dormant mode. It will make the free update available at www.blackberry.com/workaround at a later date for customers to download and install.