"NTP Inc, which last year won a $612.5 million settlement from the maker of Blackberry, has sued four of the top U.S. mobile service providers for infringing eight patents related to wireless e-mail. The lawsuits, against Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp, T-Mobile USA and the mobile unit of AT&T Inc were filed September 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, according to court documents. NTP, which is asserting patents related to products, processes and services used for wireless e-mail systems, said it was seeking a jury trial, injunctive relief and monetary damages." (Source: Reuters)

Well now, that's not a good sign.  I think a lot of us figured the legal problems would be over once NTP and RIM settled. It appears that's just not the case.  So now the carriers are forced to pay up too. What's the worst that could happen? Well, I would guess that the carriers shutdown their BlackBerry service. The chance of that is small, but not impossible.  I imagine the monthly voice and data costs of a BlackBerry might be going up once this is all settled.  It's worth noting, that back in February of 2006 Microsoft extended their IP protection to cover off Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded. (Press Release) The strengthened indemnification benefits original device manufacturers, independent software vendors, and distributors against legal problems that might arise from using Windows Mobile.  That means i-mate, Motorola, Samsung, HTC, Pantech, Cingular, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Rogers, Fido, Telus, Bell, Orange, or whoever made your phone or is providing you a service on your phone are safe from lawsuits like the one NTP has just filed. What do you think, is it time to switch camps?