Ryan Seacrest-back Typo, known for producing Blackberry-like keyboards for smartphones that lack the manual input device, has settled its ongoing legal dispute with Blackberry, according to a release from Blackberry.
It’s certainly not a victory for the celebrity backed company as, according to the release, Typo will stop all sales of its keyboards and will “permanently discontinue selling anywhere in the world keyboards for smartphones and mobile devices with a screen size of less than 7.9 inches.”
This move eliminates Typo from producing any smartphone cases, though it does give them the option to possibly enter the tablet case market. While the terms of the settlement were not disclosed Typo may have paid BlackBerry additional funds for infringing on its patents.
The Typo fretted keyboard case allowed iPhone users to easily type with a QWERTY keyboard, supposedly released after “years of development”. Yet it looked identical to the Blackberry Q10, which BlackBerry claimed was a “significant market differentiator for its mobile handheld devices.”
The victory underscores the value of Blackberry. Even as it continues to lose marketshare the company has a deep portfolio of mobile phone related patents for technologies it developed over the years.
This is why the company continues to draw interest from the likes of Samsung and Microsoft, who value both its technology that targets business customers and its rich portfolio of patents.
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