BlackBerry sues startup owned by TV celebrity
TORONTO— BlackBerry issuing Typo Products, a company co-founded by TV personality Ryan Seacrest, saying its new iPhone case rips off the famous BlackBerry keyboard.
In documents filed in a California court, BlackBerry accused Typo of copying its keyboard design in an effort to capitalize on the smartphone maker’s “commercial recognition and goodwill.”
“Typo’s keyboard product has caused and is likely to continue to cause confusion, mistake and deception as to the source of origin of (its) products,” BlackBerry said in the filing.
“(It) is likely to falsely suggest a sponsorship, connection, or association between Typo, its products, and its commercial activities with BlackBerry.”
Typo Products did not immediately respond to a request for comment and none of the allegations have been proven in court.
Seacrest is the host of American Idol, weekly countdown radio show American Top 40, and a producer on several television shows. He founded Typo alongside entrepreneur Laurence Hallier, creator and CEO of Show Media, which sells advertising space on taxi cabs in the U.S.
The Typo case runs on a lithiumion battery and adds about six millimetres in thickness and less than two centimetres in length once it is attached to an iPhone 5 or 5S.
While the case is already available for preorder online for $99 US, it will officially debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.
BlackBerry’s lawsuit comes as the company moves to protect its keyboard, one of the key differentiators between its smartphone and most other competitors on the market.