We first heard of the Typo keyboard case for iPhone back in December 2013. At first glance one might find it hard to deny that it doesn’t bear resemblance to the BlackBerry Q10’s keyboard. Some might even think that its a blatant copy, at least BlackBerry certainly seems to think so. Earlier this month the company filed a lawsuit against Typo, a company that received partial funding from celebrity and television host Ryan Seacrest. BlackBerry has termed Typo a blatant infringement against its iconic keyboard and it has vowed to “vigorously protect” its intellectual property. The next step in that mission is to get an injunction against Typo’s sales, and BlackBerry has knocked on the court’s door for just that.
BlackBerry has moved the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to stop Typo from “making, using, offering to sell, or selling within the United States, or importing into the United States, the Typo Keyboard.” It further claims that the blatant copying, their words not mine, presents an “imminent threat of irreparable harm to BlackBerry.” The company even mentioned Seacrest in its motion, claiming that he is well known to be a long time user of BlackBerry smartphones, and that he himself has said in various interviews that the inspiration for Typo keyboard stemmed from bringing the popular BlackBerry typing experience to iPhone. BlackBerry believes that Typo’s threat is magnified due to the vast popularity of the iPhone, which is why it wants the company to stop selling its product. On the other hand, Typo claims that this lawsuit lacks merit and that it has every intention to defend the case.
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