BlackBerry claims that Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp has infringed on seven of their patents. The company mentioned that these patents are being held for its BlackBerry Messenger app. The three mentioned social media are all owned by Facebook.
The 117-page lawsuit was officially filed on March 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. It claims that Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp has created mobile messaging applications that co-opt BlackBerry’s innovations, using a number of the innovative security, user interface, and functionality enhancing features that made BlackBerry’s products such a critical and commercial success in the first place.
The company is also asking for monetary damages, including an enhancement of damages on account of Defendants willful infringement. BlackBerry has requested that the claims be heard by a jury in court.
In response to the lawsuit, Facebook’s Deputy General Counsel, Paul Grewal, has stated the following words, BlackBerry’s suit sadly reflects the current state of its messaging business. Having abandoned its efforts to innovate, BlackBerry is now looking to tax the innovation of others. We intend to fight.
BlackBerry was once a top major developer of smartphones but was overshadowed by Apple’s iPhone and smartphones based on Google’s Android. As of now, BlackBerry has made a name for itself as a leading cyber-security software and services company dedicated to securing the Enterprise of Things.
