Several IT managers said they doubt that a court-ordered shutdown of Research In Motion's wireless service will ever take effect. But they added that they're miffed by NTP's exemption proposal.

"They're sticking it to private business," said John Wade, CIO at Saint Luke's Health System Inc. in Kansas City, Mo. The IT department at Saint Luke's supports nearly 500 health care workers who use BlackBerry devices, Wade said.

"I understand the government's desire for an exemption for mission-critical services, but I imagine that many private-sector companies could make the same argument," said Rick Proctor, vice president of IT at Thomas Nelson Inc.

NTP adjusted the proposed injunction in a Jan. 17 memorandum to U.S. District Court Judge James Spencer, saying it wasn't seeking to stop BlackBerry use by federal, state and local government employees or certified first responders.

Attorney James Wallace Jr. said last week that NTP is complying with a federal law that exempts U.S. government workers from such injunctions. As for the other groups that would be exempted, Wallace said, "We're not nasty, vindictive people, and we're trying to help emergency responders. But purely commercial [customers] are going to have to stop using BlackBerry unless RIM pays up."