BlackBerry Sues iPhone Keyboard Maker Typo 226
judgecorp writes "Typo Products, which makes a physical keyboard for the iPhone 5 and 5S is being sued by BlackBerry. The firm — co-founded by media personality Ryan Seacrest — provides an iPhone case which includes a physical keyboard, whose keys are sculpted very like those of a classic BlackBerry phone. 'From the beginning, BlackBerry has always focused on offering an exceptional typing experience that combines a great design with ergonomic excellence. We are flattered by the desire to graft our keyboard onto other smartphones, but we will not tolerate such activity without fair compensation for using our intellectual property and our technological innovations,' said Steve Zipperstein, BlackBerry’s General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer."
Re:All I can say to that is... (Score:3, Informative)
Blackberry used to be a maker of devices that at first were glorified pagers, then started becoming phones. They had a good reputation for security, but BIS was demanded to be backdoored by India, and BES, well, just got shoved to the side by Exchange and SSL/TLS connections and Windows Mobile, then subsequently, iOS/Android devices.
Re:Obviousness (Score:3, Informative)
Not so quick... The design of the BB keyboard is original. If you have ever held one in your hand you would see what I mean. There is a slight pitch and the keys are angled a certain way. I am no fan of BB keyboards, but I can see the attraction by some. This is a blatant copy, and does deserve to be sued. For example this is like Samsung and its phones. They are blatant copies. In contrast look at the Sony Xperia's, or the Nokia's and you see original design.
Hmm, that reminds me of something... (Score:5, Informative)
It's funny, when the Blackberry Curve came out, I remember thinking of how much the keyboard and layout reminded me of my Treo 600...
And now, ~10 years later, Blackberry is suing someone for something they didn't even create... I don't see Handspring/Palm/PalmOne having a tiff about it (but then again, maybe if they sued everyone who came out with something more desirable than their product, they might still be around soaking up others' profits...)
Don't get me wrong. I believe that someone who creates something has a right to profit off of it, without some second-rate hack coming in and stealing the idea out from under them.
But, seriously, the keyboard design? It wasn't original when it was on the Blackberry, and it still isn't original now that Blackberry is going the way of the dodo.
Re:Obviousness (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Not clear what the patent infringement is... (Score:3, Informative)
It is all about how the keys look, not that it is a keyboard. The beveling on the keys are made to make it easier to type with your thumbs. I see the novelty in it, but am not sure it should be patentable. Look for yourself:
http://typokeyboards.com/
http://www.dogtownmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/blackberry-mobile-acquired.jpg
Re:Do those things actually sell? (Score:4, Informative)
I used to be like that as well (although never liked the BlackBerry keyboards). Swype on Android changed my mind in a big way.
Exact opposite for me. I tried "swyping" for about 30 seconds before purging it from my phone with extreme prejudice. Regular QWERTY on a touchscreen is bad enough. I really want my H/W keyboard back.