Research in Motion is stating that if the Federal Judge James R. Spencer shuts BlackBerry service down, it could cost U.S. businesses $49 billion.

It is hard to see how disruption to the financial services industry or to Fortune 500 companies would do anything but harm the public interest, according to RIM, which cites a U.S. economist who estimates an injunction would have a $25 billion (U.S.) direct impact on the U.S. economy and $24 billion in indirect effects.

That is a heck of a lot of money, especially if it turns out that the NTP patents that RIM was found guilty of infringing on turn out to be invalid, which, however, by all accounts looks like will be the case when it is all said and done.

Via the Toronto Star