BlackBerry Reminds Everyone It’s Still Relevant By Suing Over Slip-On Keyboard Design

The Typo, left, vs Blackberry Q10 on the right.

One of the most common things to come out of a person’s mouth who has just switched from a BlackBerry to an iPhone is probably: “It’s so hard to type on this dang screen with my big fat fingers.” Nevertheless, BlackBerry has seen swarms of customers go rushing into the arms of the iPhone and other smartphones in recent years. In a stab at reminding everyone that it’s still a relevant brand, BlackBerry is now suing the makers of a slip-on keyboard for the iPhone, claiming it’s a blatant copy.

Typo Products LLC, a company with TV’s Great Orange Hosting Hope Ryan Seacrest as a major investor, has a slip-on keyboard that fits the iPhone 5 and 5S. It’s supposed to make it easier to type on the iPhone and eliminate the typos referenced in its name.

But that curved, smooth black keyboard looks awfully familiar to BlackBerry, which filed a copyright infringement suit against Typo today.

“Typo chose to copy BlackBerry’s iconic keyboard design as embodied in, among others, BlackBerry’s Q10 smartphone” instead of coming up with its own design, the lawsuit alleges, according to PC World.

“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, BlackBerry’s general counsel and chief legal officer, in a statement.

The lawsuit wants a trial by jury in order to get money for the alleged copyright violation. Ryan Seacrest hasn’t piped up yet.

BlackBerry sues Ryan Seacrest’s Typo over ‘iconic’ keyboard design [PC World]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist