RIM CEO: Patents? We don't need no stinkin' patents!

After getting suckered into agreeing to pay patent-hunters NTP close to half-a-billion dollars and then deciding that it wasn't such a good deal after all, BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion has come out swinging. Vowing that rumors of the company's imminent demise are premature, RIM co-chief executive Jim Balsillie told Reuters that the company has a workaround that will allow it to keep the BlackBerry alive without having to rely on NTP's patents. That has to be a relief to RIM's customers and shareholders, who were starting to worry that the BlackBerry could be yanked from shelves any day now. Balsillie didn't provide any details about the workaround, but rumors are that it involves tin cans and copious amounts of string.