BlackBerry, Typo agree to settle lawsuit over keyboard accessories

(Picture by Maurizio Pesce on Flickr)

BlackBerry said in a statement that as a part of lawsuit, Typo Products LLC has agreed to permanently suspend selling of keyboards for smartphone devices with a screen less than 7.9 inches. The company hasn’t disclosed amount for the settlement.

A few years ago, Ryan Seacrest made a big splash, when it first released- a keyboard attachment for iPhone users, who missed to have a physical keyboard on their iPhone device. A smartphone's screen size daunts a keyboard’s design, and the settlement suggested that BlackBerry has no policy to adapt Typo’s keyboard to smartphones’ device, having a screen size of 7.9 inches or more.

The design was an obvious homage to the old-school BlackBerry keyboard to which most of them were addicted to it. And as such, it was a blatant violation of BlackBerry patents. So the Canadian manufacturer sued Typo Products LLC that ended up being charged around USD 900,000 when it violated an official order against selling the keyboard.

At present, BlackBerry is the largest smartphone selling company-based on its screen size – a newly launched five-inch Leap.

Early in 2014, an American Radio personality-Ryan Seacrest stated that BlackBerry has filled a lawsuit against Typo. In the recent years, the Canadian company’s share of the global smartphone market has declined and still, it is counting on the hurdle and other new devices aimed at professionals to help it generate sufficient revenue while it waits for sales of new mobile management and security software to gain traction with enterprise customers.

Right now, the lawsuit has been settled for an undisclosed amount. As, Typo primarily made keyboards attachments for iPhones, this means that it’s the end for Seacrest’s knockoff keyboard.