The three-year-old patent dispute between NTP and Research In Motion (RIM) saw a flurry of activity early this year as the Canadian government stepped into the fray. The Canadian government argued in a brief filed Jan. 13 that a decision by the U.S. appeals court on Dec. 14 to uphold the patent infringement ruling against RIM and send the case back to a lower court for judgment could significantly harm Canadian technology companies and innovation. Canada asked the U.S. court to consider RIM’s appeal to rehear the case before 12 judges, or “en banc,” rather than return the case to the lower court.