BlackBerry sues Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram for infringing patents

BlackBerry, the smartphone manufacturer has filed a lawsuit against the likes of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. The lawsuit first reported by Reuters was filed in Central District of California court.

The Canadian firm has filed a 117-page lawsuit against “relative latecomers” Facebook and its wholly-owned apps for copying BBM features and functionalities. According to the lawsuit, BlackBerry has specific patents that include- Security improvement, User interface improvement, Combining mobile gaming and mobile messaging, Battery efficient status updates for mobile devices. Additionally, the lawsuit also includes the patent for notification of unread messages.

Ummmm BlackBerry is suing Facebook for infringing a patent that claims to cover…. displaying a count of unread messages on a notification dot. pic.twitter.com/sGqetm6qbH

— nilay patel (@reckless) March 6, 2018

BlackBerry is seeking “redress for the harm caused by Defendants’ unlawful use of BlackBerry’s intellectual property,” which may include injunctive relief and monetary damages, according to the complaint.

In a statement authored by Facebook Deputy General Counsel Paul Grewal said, “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.”

Here's BlackBerry's complaint in full.