BlackBerry Wins Patent Ruling Against Ryan Seacrest's Typo iPhone Keyboard Case
March 29, 2014
BlackBerry has won a preliminary injunction that blocks the sale of the Typo iPhone keyboard case.
Reuters reports:
U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco said that the Canadian mobile phone maker had established a "likelihood" of proving that Typo infringed its patents, while mentioning that Typo had not sufficiently challenged the patents in question.Backed by the popular TV host Ryan Seacrest, the Typo iPhone keyboard case is a Bluetooth-connected device that affixes a full tactile keyboard onto the bottom of an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5s, thereby enabling the user to type faster with fewer typos. If you can't see the video embedded above, please click here. But the snap-on accessory's BlackBerry-like keyboard design sure didn't escape the notice of BlackBerry, which sued the maker of Typo last January over its “blatant infringement against BlackBerry’s iconic keyboard.” Typo, however, then responded that Blackberry’s claims against Typo lacked merit. As it turns out, though, the court thinks otherwise. "This ruling will help prevent further injury to BlackBerry from Typo's blatant theft of our patented keyboard technology," a spokeswoman for BlackBerry said. Unveiled last December, the Typo iPhone keyboard case began shipping this month. Although the ruling already prohibits its sale, the product remains available to order for $99. According to Reuters, Typo was not immediately available for comment.
