FRIENDLY MESSAGE

BlackBerry and Kik settle instant-messaging feud.

TORON TO • BlackBerry Ltd.’ s patent infringement lawsuit against instant messaging service Kik messenger, which now has more users than the smartphone maker’s own BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), has been dismissed after the two technology rivals settled out of court.

The lawsuit originally filed in Federal Court in Toronto in 2010 alleged that the startup infringed on their patents and that founder and chief executive Ted Livingston used knowledge he gained during his time as an employee of then-called Research In Motion in violation of confidentiality and code of ethics agreements.

The case was dismissed with prejudice on Sept. 4, Mr. Livingston said.

He would not discuss the terms due to a confidentiality agreement as part of the settlement, nor clarify whether or not a settlement was paid, or to whom, but said: “We’re very happy with the way it was ultimately settled.”

With the litigation closed, it is business as usual for Kik, he added, which now has 90 million users around the world, mainly on iPhone and Android, compared with BBM’s 60 million user base.

A BlackBerry spokesperson said the terms of the dismissal were confidential.

This comes as BlackBerry’s rollout of its own cross-platform version of BBM for Android and iPhone devices has been suspended for more than two weeks due to technical issues.

The embattled Waterloo, Ont.based smartphone maker has also reported a nearly $1-billion loss due to tepid interest in their latest line of blackberry 10 smartphones, and has said it will lay off roughly 4,500 of its staff worldwide.

blackberry has also signed a tentative uS$4.7-billion takeover offer with a consortium lead by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., but the deal is still subject to financing and due diligence. Meanwhile, other technology firms such as cisco Systems Inc. and Google Inc. are reportedly in talks to potentially buy the company, or parts of it, reuters reported.

despite blackberry’s troubles and legal run-ins, Mr. Livingston says their smartphones still have much to offer, and he uses a blackberry 9900 (which has a physical keyboard) himself.

“you would think that of all people I would not have a blackberry, and yet, not only do I have one, but I continue to evangelize it whenever I travel through the u.S.... There is still an opportunity to address that market, [as] a killer email machine,” he said. “I’m not sure if there’s enough time now, or willingness to do that.”

Kik has been barred from running on blackberry’s devices due to the legal battle, but the company is open to a working relationship with the smartphone maker, Mr. Livingston said.

“This definitely opens up the path to work together, if there’s desire from each side to do so, and if there is a business win from each side to do so,” he said.

Still, Kik has no plans at this time to develop a version of its popular messaging app for blackberry 10, he said.

The newest line of smartphones isn’t as email-friendly as its predecessors, he added.

“Honestly, there are just no bb10 devices we like,” Mr. Livingston said.