BlackBerry wins ruling against Ryan Seacrest firm’s iPhone keyboard
In an early win for BlackBerry, a start-up co-founded by Ryan Seacrest has been banned from selling its iPhone keyboard.
BlackBerry sued Typo Products in January, alleging that Typo’s iPhone case -- which includes a physical keyboard -- copies BlackBerry’s hardware and infringes on its patents.
In a 24-page court order Friday, a federal judge in San Francisco granted BlackBerry’s motion for a preliminary injunction, ruling that the Canadian smartphone maker “has established a likelihood of proving that Typo infringes the patents at issue and Typo has not presented a substantial question of the validity of those patents.”
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BlackBerry said in statement that it was pleased with the ruling, which prohibits Typo from making, using, selling, marketing, importing or distributing its keyboard case until litigation is resolved.
“This ruling will help prevent further injury to BlackBerry from Typo’s blatant theft of our patented keyboard technology,” the Waterloo, Canada, company said. “While we are flattered by the desire to graft our keyboard onto other smartphones, we will not tolerate the deliberate use of our iconic design without proper permission. We are proud of our keyboard and will vigorously protect our intellectual property against any company that infringes our rights or attempts to copy our unique designs and patented technology.”
In a statement, Typo said it was disappointed with the court’s decision and planned to appeal.
The Typo iPhone keyboard case was still available online Monday afternoon. The $99 case fits the iPhone 5 and 5s and resembles the physical keyboards found on many BlackBerry smartphones.
The Los Angeles company was founded in August 2013 and launched its keyboard case in January.
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