I know that many, if not most of you, have taken BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion's side in their patent infringement dispute with NTP.

But I just received an email from Ron Riley, president of the Professional Inventors Alliance, a 13 yar-old advocacy group for inventor's intellectual property and patent rights.

Riley takes the opposing view. And since we are an independent site dedicated to balanced news, I offer his take now.

"RIM is in my opinion a Patent Pirate," he writes. "Even if RIM survives the NTP case they were stupid enough to start another patent case (Eatoni) which will probably be just as damaging as the NTP case. We know just how damaging because we helped the inventor make contact with numerous patent enforcement entities."

Next, Riley addresses the perception that Judge James Wallace, who is in charge of the BlackBerry hearings, seems to be impatient with RIM.
 
"Have any of you wondered why the judge in this case is so fed up
with RIM?," Riley writes."RIM tried to foist manufactured evidence on the court. RIM has apparently committed many other sins upon the court, not the least of which is apparently applying political pressure to sway the outcome, a tactic which has backfired."

Riley then singles out the U.S. Patent & Trademark Officefor some criticism.
 
"The USPTO is a very political organization who has a bad habit of carrying water for 900 pound guerrillas. This case has the USPTO afraid of political backlash," he charges."NTP is a hot potato which they want to lob into the appellate courts to defuse potential political backlash. Hence their "invalidating" all the patents.

"But the reality is that  they did grant the patents and I personally very much doubt that those patents are invalid," Riley writes. "So in five years when the court rules the odds are that the patents will be upheld. There are numerous relevant patents, and all NTP has to do to win this is hang RIM on one claim."
 
Next, Riley takes the oppty to speak to all BlackBerry users.

"Now I want all of the RIM supporters to look at the fact that RIM is being accused to taking more than one parties property," he writes."Do youreally think this company is reputable?
 
"When you use RIM products or services you are a party to their conduct," he closes."Just remember that some day when some well heeled bully kicks the crap out of one of you and flat out steals your property while painting you as a bad apple that some of us will take the time to get at the truth while the majority may well buy the bully's propaganda."