BlackBerry Settles Patent Dispute With Makes Of Slip-On Keyboard

After another round of fighting over whether keyboard company Typo Products’ was infringing on BlackBerry’s patents, the two sides have decided to settle their dispute. Typo will still get to sell slip-on keyboards — as long as they’re of a certain size.

Blackberry and Typo agreed to settle the dispute, reports Reuters, with an agreement that allows Typo to sell keyboards for smartphones and other devices that have screens larger than 7.9 inches. That means no (current) iPhones, but allows for tablets and other devices.

Last February a U.S. district court slapped Typo — co-founded by that guy from American Idol, Ryan Seacrest — on the wrist for violating a previous injunction that had kept it from selling an iPhone keyboard case that BlackBerry claimed was a copycat design. This, despite Typo’s claim that a newer release of its keyboard didn’t infringe on any patents.

BlackBerry then sued again, which is what led to today’s settlement.

BlackBerry settles patent dispute with Seacrest’s company Typo [Reuters]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist