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During the epic patent infringement fight that forced Research In Motion Ltd. to pay NTP Inc. hundreds of millions of dollars, the presiding judge vented his frustration with both parties on more than one occasion.

Now Judge James Spencer gets to relive the journey into obscure wireless patents, after NTP lawyers successfully argued to get their next infringement case, brought against Palm Inc., reassigned to him.

NTP, a patent-licensing firm, filed a lawsuit against Palm on Nov. 6 in Richmond, Va. district court, claiming the company's devices infringe its patents. A few days later the firm sought to get its case moved to the courtroom of Judge Spencer, arguing that he was well versed in the wireless technology.

Palm countered that its fight with NTP is not a replay of the RIM battle. But on Monday, Judge Robert Doumar signed an order transferring the case to Judge Spencer.

Judge Spencer ruled in NTP's favour during the firm's litigation against RIM. He increased the amount of damages and royalties that a jury in 2002 ordered RIM to pay and slapped an injunction on BlackBerry sales in the U.S., but stayed the ruling pending appeal.

RIM finally settled the suit last March for $612.5-million (U.S.), one of the largest patent-dispute payments in history, after the judge looked almost certain to order a ban on most BlackBerry sales in the U.S., RIM's biggest market.

The case lasted more than four years and was repeatedly bogged down with motions and procedural issues.

At one point last November, Judge Spencer vented his frustration with both sides, telling them, “I've spent enough of my life and my time on NTP and RIM.”

The federal judge found himself presiding over one of the most controversial corporate cases in the country, with the U.S. Justice Department begging him to delay an injunction until the parties could figure out a way to allow essential government and emergency workers to continue using their BlackBerrys. RIM, of Waterloo, Ont., enlisted the help of Ottawa and powerful members of Congress in a bid to persuade the judge to back off while the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reviewed the disputed NTP patents.

NTP is clearly hoping to duplicate its victory in the same courtroom. The patents at the heart of its latest suit remain under review by regulators and were rejected in preliminary findings.

But even the possibility of an expensive settlement, an injunction or uncertainty has spooked Palm investors. The stock slumped nearly 8 per cent when the suit was announced. Shares slipped 2 per cent in regular trading Tuesday, sinking to a new 52-week low of $13.70 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

Neither NTP or Palm officials responded to requests for comment Tuesday.

The suit is only one cloud on Palm's horizon. Its popular line of Treo smart phones face strong competition from new products such as RIM's BlackBerry Pearl, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s BlackJack, Nokia Corp.'s E61 device and Motorola Inc.'s “Q.”

Palm, of Sunnyvale, Calif., posted second-quarter results after the market closed Tuesday, reporting a 12-per-cent decline in sales, to $392.9-million. Profit fell to $12.8-million, or 12 cents a share, from $260.1-million, or $2.51 a share, a year earlier, when the bottom line included a large tax benefit.

Sales were squeezed not only by strong competition but also by the delay of the latest Treo device, which didn't hit the U.S. market as expected last quarter. Palm says the Treo 750 will launch this quarter and it expects share profit of between 8 and 10 cents, on revenue of between $400-million and $410-million. That would compare with share profit of 28 cents on revenue of $388.5-million a year earlier.

The financial news lifted Palm shares in early extended-hours trading by 6 cents to $13.76.