iPhone Keyboard Maker 'Typo' Ordered to Pay BlackBerry $860,000 - اخبار التقنية

ahlam1399 · #1 02-05-2015, 02:18 AM

iPhone Keyboard Maker 'Typo' Ordered to Pay BlackBerry $860,000

Typo Products, a company that developed a BlackBerry-esque Keyboard case for the iPhone, must pay BlackBerry $860,000 for continuing to sell its Typo case despite being Ordered to cease sales in March.

The Typo Keyboard was first an**unced in December of 2013 and was backed by media personality Ryan Seacrest (of American Idol fame). Seacrest reportedly invested $1 million into the product, which was the result of a desire to introduce a physical Keyboard for the iPhone.

According to Seacrest and his partner Lauren Hallier, they saw many of their friends carrying two phones -- one for typing and correspondence, presumably a Blackberry, and an iPhone for everything else. The Keyboard that the duo developed, which snapped onto an iPhone, bore a marked resemblance to BlackBerry's signature keyboards, a fact that did **t go un**ticed by the company.

iPhone Keyboard Maker 'Typo' Ordered

Original Typo iPhone case next to the BlackBerry Q10
Just a month after the Typo Keyboard was an**unced, BlackBerry filed a lawsuit accusing Typo Products of "blatantly" copying the BlackBerry Keyboard and infringing on BlackBerry patents. A judge agreed with BlackBerry, handing down the aforementioned injunction that banned the Typo from selling its keyboards, despite Typo's argument that it was **t harming BlackBerry as BlackBerry was already losing market share.

Typo ig**red the injunction and continued selling its Typo Keyboard cases, leading BlackBerry to file a contempt of court order in August, which resulted in today's $860,000 fine. BlackBerry had initially asked for $2.6 million in penalties, plus attorneys' fees for the violation.

In addition to continuing to sell the original Keyboard case, Typo Products introduced the Typo2 Keyboard for the iPhone 6 in December of 2014, which it says does **t infringe on any BlackBerry patents. Typo2 features a sleeker design with a built-in Keyboard that unfortunately blocks the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 6. Typo's website currently sells Typo2 keyboards for both the iPhone 5/5s and the iPhone 6.

iPhone Keyboard Maker 'Typo' Ordered

Typo2 for iPhone 6
In response to the fine levied against it, a Typo representative told Re/code that the ruling is "part of the ongoing patent litigation related to the initial Typo product" and that it "has ** impact on the Typo 2." A BlackBerry representative only had this to say: "The court's order speaks for itself."