BB Sues The iPhone Keyboard Case 'Typo' Over Blatantly Copying Its Iconic Keyboard Design
BlackBerry has filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California against Typo, the maker of an iPhone keyboard case designed to slip onto Apple’s phones.
By Sadho Ram — 06 Dec 2013, 06:58 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
BlackBerry, in an effort to protect one of its key designs, has filed a copyright infringement suit against a company co-founded by Ryan Seacrest that makes a keyboard case for the iPhone
On Friday the struggling smartphone maker filed a lawsuit against Typo Products LLC, a company that makes a slip-on keyboard designed to fit the iPhone 5 and 5S.
The company, which is based in Los Angeles, was founded by entrepreneur Laurence Hallier and television personality Ryan Seacrest. The company’s flagship product, the “Typo Keyboard,” was conceived to make typing on the iPhone quicker and less prone to typos.
Now the company might be wishing it went a little slower. The keyboard, BlackBerry alleges, violates the company’s intellectual property rights for copying BlackBerry’s own keyboard designs.
cio.comInstead of developing its own design, “Typo chose to copy BlackBerry’s iconic keyboard design as embodied in, among others, BlackBerry’s Q10 smartphone,” the lawsuit alleges, which was filed Friday in the U.S. district court in the Northern District of California.
“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.
“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.”
bloomberg.comTypo has issued a statement in response to BlackBerry’s lawsuit, saying that it’s without any merit and will defend itself “vigorously”. Here’s the complete statement that the company provided to Mashable:
"We are aware of the lawsuit that Blackberry filed against Typo Products. Although we respect Blackberry and its intellectual property, we believe that Blackberry’s claims against Typo lack merit and we intend to defend the case vigorously. We are excited about our innovative keyboard design, which is the culmination of years of development and research," the company said.
mashable.com
The statement added that the company plans to go ahead with its launch at International CES in Las Vegas and is on track to begin shipping pre-orders at the end of January.
American Idol host Ryan Seacrest has co-founded and invested in a startup that will soon announce a physical keyboard accessories for the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 5S
Television and radio personality Ryan Seacrest wants a physical keyboard for his iPhone so badly, he's willing to put in a million dollars of his own money to make it happen.
vcpost.com
The new company, known as Typo Keyboard, features Mr. Seacrest as one of the co-founders; rumors suggest that they plan to invest another $4 million or more to get the company off the ground.
The company plans to exhibit its first product at CES in January - a physical keyboard case for your iPhone 5 and 5s
Adding a full qwerty keyboard to the bottom of the phone, the Typo connects via Bluetooth, features backlit keys and can be recharged within one hour.
247wallst.com
From the looks, Typo's keyboard shares more than a passing resemblance with BlackBerry's own style - and for good reason; the Canadian tech giant is perhaps best known for its excellent physical keyboards.
tuaw.com
The price: $99 for pre-order. The Typo is shown to be shipping in January 2014. Its website calls it “An iPhone Keyboard Case that attaches to your iPhone 5/5s. Finally keys you can type on!”
todaysiphone.com
According to Seacrest he was inspired by his friends’ difficulties of carrying two phones around: an iPhone and another device for “typing and correspondence”
According to the press release, he realized that there was a need for a physical keyboard during dinner one night. “One night, Ryan and his friend Laurence Hallier, CEO of Show Media, were out to dinner and both had phones on the table.
Two people, four phones!” They each had a Blackberry for typing and emailing, and an iPhone for normal use. This insipired Mr. Seacrest and his co-founder to invest over $1 million in creating a new product and company called Typo.
in.com
As you can see in the photo above, Typo is a portrait keyboard case that slides onto an iPhone 5 or 5s and delivers an experience similar to a Blackberry keyboard, and it syncs with the device through Bluetooth 3.0.
todaysiphone.com
At present, the Typo Keyboard is compatible for both iPhone 5 and 5S only. However, the report said the prototype keyboard has a high level of functionality. According to All Things D, the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show will include the accessory in its Las Vegas showcase. Typo is set to debut in 2014, Las Vegas Guardian Express reported.
vcpost.com
While the idea behind the case seems pretty cool, there are a few issues with the design of the case
First, it covers the home button. For 5s users, this means that Touch ID is useless, but the bigger issue is the fact that the solution for the case is to add a home button to the very bottom right of the keyboard.
todaysiphone.com
Sure, at least it’s there, but it sure isn’t as convenient as having the normal home button. Second, it would be awkward to have to hold the device so low, and the top would be heavier and not balanced, meaning it would be weird to type on and keep the phone steady.
ubergizmo.com