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The $450 million patent dispute settlement between the Canadian-based makers of the popular BlackBerry wireless e-mail device and NTP, a Virginia patent firm, is invalid according to a court ruling issued Wednesday morning.

The ruling is another legal setback for Research in Motion and opens the door for NTP to press for perhaps as much as $1 billion in infringement damages.

The decision also possibly opens the door for NTP to seek an injunction barring sales of the BlackBerry in the United States.

Three years ago, a Virginia court ruled that the BlackBerry infringed on patents held by NTP. In March of this year, the two companies preliminarily reached a $450 million settlement, but further talks fell through in June.

RIM then returned to court, seeking enforcement of the $450 million figure.

U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer rejected RIM's motion.

According to a press statement issued by NTP, the ruling allows the company to continue moving forward in the case, including re-confirmation of an injunction that "prohibits RIM from selling, using or importing into the United States infringing BlackBerry hardware and software until the last of the litigated patents expires in 2012."

The statement also said any injunction would not affect usage of BlackBerry products by federal, state or local governments or by first responders.