Research in Motion faces a Feb. 24 court date that could lead to the shutdown of its BlackBerry wireless communication capabilities in the United States.

U.S. District Judge James Spencer set the date Wednesday to hear arguments in a Virginia court on an injunction in a five-year-old patent infringement case.

If the judge grants the injunction, it's unclear whether the wireless services would be inaccessible to everyone in the U.S. or whether government and emergency service agencies would be exempt.

Virginia-based NTP Inc. filed suit against RIM (TSX:RIM) (Nasdaq:RIMM) in 2001, accusing it of infringing on some of its patents. Last year, a $450 million US settlement deal fell apart, leaving the two companies heading for a courtroom showdown.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case.

While a shutdown of all or part of the BlackBerry service in the U.S. is a possibility, observers expect Waterloo, Ont.-based RIM will work out a settlement with NTP or find a solution to get around the patent issue.

While RIM has lost in several court rounds, it has scored some victories with the U.S. Patent Office. The federal government branch has issued preliminary rulings against some of NTP's patents. A final ruling from the patent office could come within weeks.

RIM's shares fell 3 cents to $74.73 in Wednesday trading on the TSX.