BlackBerry can savor at least one iPhone-related victory.
The mobile device company, which has struggled to compete with Apple’s rival smartphone, said on Monday that it settled “outstanding legal disputes” related to Typo Products, the Ryan Seacrest-backed company behind an iPhone case with a physical QWERTY keyboard resembling a BlackBerry desgin.
BlackBerry previously sued Typo and founder Laurence Hallier over two separate iterations of the iPhone accessory, claiming both versions copied the company’s designs and patents. Typo remodeled its product after getting sued by BlackBerry last year, but BlackBerry followed up with a second lawsuit earlier this year regarding the Typo 2, which Typo had tweaked somewhat in order to avoid further legal claims.
Now, the various sides seem to have settled their legal battle. Typo will now only sell keyboards for mobile devices with display sizes larger than those of any BlackBerry product.
From BlackBerry’s press release:
As part of the settlement, Typo Products LLC, Typo Innovations LLC, Show Media LLC, Hallier Investments LLC, and Laurence Hallier have agreed to permanently discontinue selling anywhere in the world keyboards for smartphones and mobile devices with a screen size of less than 7.9 inches. Typo Products LLC, Typo Innovations LLC, Show Media LLC, Hallier Investments LLC, and Laurence Hallier may continue to sell keyboards for devices with a screen size of 7.9 inches or larger.
Earlier this year, Typo announced an iPad keyboard accessory that should be safe under the terms of the agreement with BlackBerry.
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