BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) has taken legal action against Typo, an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone case, which was showcased this week at the CES. The Typo cases have been designed by the start-up founded by Ryan Seacrest, the host of American Idol. With these casing, Apple intends to enhance the typing speed of users through the physical keyboard.
Typo copied our style
Last week, the Waterloo, Ontario based company filed a lawsuit in the federal court for the Northern District of California against Apple claiming that Typo breached three patents of BlackBerry along with its “trade dress,” which is an informal protection for distinctive product designs associated with a single company.
“As a result of its innovative and distinctive keyboard designs, BlackBerry’s devices have achieved overwhelming commercial success,” claimed BlackBerry in its filing against Apple. Further, the Canadian firm added that the Typo has copied the innovative style and design of BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) without making any changes on its own.
The phone with typing comfort of a physical keyboard has not been named yet, but BlackBerry reported in its lawsuit an appearance made by Seacrest on CNN last week where he agreed with the host, who said “So it’s the best thing about a BlackBerry, within the iPhone.”
Typo denying all claims
However, if Typo is to be believed then both Seacrest and Laurence Hallier, the company’s other founder and its chief executive came up with the idea of developing a case that gives typing comfort because they find it uncomfortable to carry two phones together, one for typing and an iPhone for everything else.
Typo dismissed the lawsuit, which demands banning the sales of the case and unspecified damages. The company said in a statement that though they have high regards for BlackBerry and its intellectual property, but the lawsuit on the case is not substantial. Adding to its statement, the company also said that it is excited about innovative keyboard design, which is the conclusion of years of research and developments.
Rockstar lawsuit
Back in November 2013, Rockstar group, a holding company owned by BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) and other tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Ericsson and Sony and others filed various legal cases against Google, Samsung, HTC, LG Electronics and Huawei Technologies. Google, in turn, sued Rockstar, which owns the patents that once belonged to Nortel, Canada’s telecommunications leader before its bankruptcy. Experts note down that some of the patents of BlackBerry do not hold a specific value because of lack of litigation.
