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Tag: Typo

  • BlackBerry-Style iPhone Keyboard Sales Banned by Court

    A U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of California has issued a preliminary injunction against the Typo keyboard. The peripheral is a BlackBerry-style keyboard attachment for iPhone devices.

    According to a New York Times report the judge overseeing the case believes that BlackBerry’s copyright claims against the Typo product are likely to hold up in court. The injunction bans sales, importation, and marketing of the Typo keyboard in the U.S. until the legal matter is resolved.

    According to a statement sent out this weekend from BlackBerry the company is “flattered” by the concept of the Typo but “will not tolerate the deliberate use of our iconic design without proper permission.”

    BlackBerry first filed its lawsuit against Typo back in January, calling the device “blatant copying and infringement” of its intellectual property rights. The injunction request was filed later in January, just as the Typo was set to ship to its first pre-order customers.

    “From the beginning, BlackBerry has always focused on offering an exceptional typing experience that combines a great design with ergonomic excellence,” said Steve Zipperstein, chief legal officer at BlackBerry at the time the lawsuit was filed. “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.”

    The company behind the Typo keyboard was founded by Show Media CEO Laurence Hallier and Radio/TV personality Ryan Seacrest. According to the company’s founders, the idea behind the keyboard came as Hallier and Seacrest saw that each carried a touchscreen smartphone for apps and a smartphone device with a physical keyboard for quicker messaging and email capabilities. The company’s mission statement involves providing a “high-quality physical keyboard” for iPhone users who use their mobile devices for correspondence.

    According to the Times report Typo this weekend issued a statement on the court’s decision stating that it is “disappointed” with the decision and that the company has plans to appeal.

  • BlackBerry Files to Block Typo Keyboard Case Sales

    Just after the new year began, BlackBerry filed a lawsuit against iPhone case-maker Typo. The company’s product, the Typo iPhone Keyboard Case, snaps on to modern iPhones to give them a physical keyboard. The case is a solution for consumers who prefer the physical keyboards of BlackBerry’s past designs, but who also prefer the software that Apple’s iOS provides.

    Today InfoWorld reported that as part of the lawsuit BlackBerry has filed a motion to block sales of the Typo iPhone Keyboard Case in the U.S. BlackBerry is asking that Typo be barred from making or selling its case in the U.S., claiming that it is a “blatant” ripoff of BlackBerry keyboard designs. The company also claims that the founders of Typo were long-time BlackBerry device users who have cited BlackBerry explicitly as the design inspiration for the iPhone case.

    BlackBerry’s lawsuit concerns two different design patents it holds with regards to its smartphone keyboards. One specifically describes a keyboard “optimized for use with the thumbs.” Typo’s keyboard case sports a keyboard with sloped keys very similar to BlackBoard keyboard designs.

    According to InfoWorld, Typo has responded to BlackBerry’s filing by claiming BlackBerry’s case is without merit. Typo has indicated that it intends to defend its product in court.

    Lending a tabloid edge to this story is the fact that Typo was co-founded by TV/radio personality Ryan Seacrest, along with Show Media CEO Laurence Hallier. The Typo website states that one of the goals for the Typo keyboard is to eliminate the need for some professionals to carry both an iPhone and a BlackBerry device, which could lend credence to BlackBerry’s claim that the iPhone case could cause irreparable harm to BlackBerry sales.

    Image via Typo

  • BlackBerry Sues iPhone Keyboard Case-Maker Typo

    Having dismissed singer Alicia Keys as its global creative director, BlackBerry this week is now looking to protect what little it has left by defending its patents.

    BlackBerry today announced that it has filed suit against Typo, a company that creates an iPhone case with a built-in keyboard. The Typo keyboard case is set to ship this month and can be pre-ordered for $99.

    BlackBerry is claiming that Typo has infringed on its BlackBerry keyboard design, and that it must protect its intellectual property rights “from blatant copying and infringement.”

    “This is a blatant infringement against BlackBerry’s iconic keyboard, and we will vigorously protect our intellectual property against any company that attempts to copy our unique design,” said Steve Zipperstein, chief legal officer at BlackBerry. “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.”

    BlackBerry smartphones are well-known for including hardware keyboards. Even when joining other manufacturers with its touch-focused BlackBerry 10 OS last year, BlackBerry announced the BlackBerry Q10, a version of its high-end Z10 smartphone with a physical keyboard. This capitulation to what their business customers once wanted did not help BlackBerry 10 find success, and the company last quarter wrote off billions of dollars worth of its hardware.

    Typo was founded by Show Media CEO Laurence Hallier and TV/radio personality Ryan Seacrest. The company’s mission was to provide iPhone users with a high-quality physical keyboard that could be used for quick typing by those who often correspond using their mobile devices.

    TYPO PRODUCTS – iPhone Keyboard Case from Typo on Vimeo.