BlackBerry Sues Typo Over iPhone Keyboard (Again)

BlackBerry has again sued the makers of the Typo2 Keyboard, saying the second-gen iPhone accessory still rips off the classic BlackBerry design.

A new complaint filed Monday in California suggests that Ryan Seacrest's Typo2 (pictured, left) "slavishly copied" BlackBerry's design, "down to the smallest detail."

"The Typo2 Keyboard still blatantly copies BlackBerry's iconic keyboard trade dress designs that have been embodied in numerous BlackBerry smartphones from the 2007 BlackBerry 8800 to the current Q10 (pictured, right) and Classic models," the document said.

Other infringements include utility patents for keyboard design, backlighting, and typing automation technologies, BlackBerry said.

Entertainment personality Seacrest invested more than $1 million of his own money in the Typo Keyboard Case in late 2013. The $99 case slides over your iPhone, giving it a physical keyboard. It claims to double typing time and, ironically, reduce typos; it also comes with a backlit keyboard and a quick-charging 180 mAh battery.

But it also closely resembles the QWERTY keyboard found on BlackBerry devices, and the Canadian phone maker filed suit against Typo Products in January 2014.

In March 2014, BlackBerry won a preliminary injunction against Typo, successfully banning the iPhone keyboard. After it was caught shipping products outside of the U.S., Typo earlier this month was ordered to pay $860,000 in sanctions for violating the injunction.

Typo returned late last year with the Typo2—and talk of an iPad keyboard.

Now, BlackBerry is seeking an injunction barring sales of the Typo, as well as monetary damages.

"[The] defendants' extensive copying of BlackBerry's proprietary designs and technology is part of an ongoing attempt to trade on BlackBerry's commercial recognition and goodwill, its years of technological innovation, and its intellectual property," the lawsuit said.

Typo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For more, see PCMag's review of the Typo2 for iPhone 6.