The battle between BlackBerry and the look alike iPhone accessory, Typo , has been going on for a few weeks now. BlackBerry is suing Typo and claims that their iPhone keyboard accessory infringes on multiple BlackBerry patents — and also looks a lot like the BlackBerry Q10 keyboard. Things in the case have been a bit back and forth with nothing showing a clear winner on either end.
BlackBerry is one step closer to a win today however as U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick has said it does not appear that two of the three patents in question in the case are invalid, as Typo claims. “If the consumer can look at this and say this product is ripping off BlackBerry and knows it’s not a BlackBerry product, how does that make a difference in my analysis?” Orrick said. Orrick will be issuing a ruling on BlackBerry's request to block the sale of the Typo "promptly."
BlackBerry lawyer, James Aspberger, says that the company will suffer irreparable harm if Typo sales continue, stating that the company has invested billions in the development of their Q10 keyboard and has also lost sales to those that buy a Typo case instead of a Q10.
Olivier Taillieu, an attorney for Typo, says that BlackBerry is trying to monopolize the keyboard market and that many other keyboards also have the same characteristics that BlackBerry is trying to claim as their own. “The Q10 by and large was a failure” and “has literally not sold.”
Typo says that BlackBerry's claims against them lack merit and the patents aren't valid and can't be enforced.