[JURIST] US District Judge James R. Spencer [JTBF profile] of the Eastern District of Virginia [official website] Wednesday rejected the disputed settlement pact between the maker of the Blackberry [product website] communications device, Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM) [corporate website], and the patent owner of the technology behind the device, NTP, Inc. The $450 million settlement, which the companies agreed to in March, but never finalized, would have ended NTP’s infringement suit against RIM, which wanted to enforce the agreement. Spencer will next determine whether to issue an injunction that completely halts Blackberry sales and service in the US. Industry experts believe the ruling will force RIM to settle the suit for as much as $1 billion. Nasdaq stopped trading Blackberry's shares shortly before the ruling was made public. AP has more.