James Wallace Jr., an attorney who represents NTP, said the requested injunction would also give current BlackBerry users 30 days to find new wireless devices and services.

Mark Guibert, RIM's vice president of corporate marketing, said in a statement that if an injunction were to be imposed, RIM would install a software work-around on new BlackBerry devices. "Work-arounds are a legitimate strategy respected by the courts, so RIM would be fully entitled to alter its software and continue shipping," Guibert said.

He also argued that the nearly 4 million existing BlackBerry users should be allowed to continue using the service even if an injunction is put in place. If the judge disagrees, Guibert said, RIM will seek a longer grace period than the 30-day one proposed by NTP.

Frank Gillman, director of technology at Allen Matkins Leck Gamble & Mallory, said he would go along with a work-around that enabled RIM to avoid any patent infringement, because it would be easier to install new software for his BlackBerry devices than it would be to find and deploy an alternative technology.

RIM is also pinning its hopes on a re-examination of NTP's patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent office has issued preliminary decisions against the validity of NTP's patent claims, with the most recent ruling coming on Nov. 30. However, U.S. District Court Judge James Spencer said on the same day that he wouldn't hold up the case between RIM and NTP while the patents are being re-examined.