BlackBerry is suing Facebook for patent infringement
BlackBerry is suing Facebook for patent infringement on its legacy messaging service, the company said Tuesday.
"[W]e have a strong claim that Facebook has infringed on our intellectual property, and after several years of dialogue, we also have an obligation to our shareholders to pursue appropriate legal remedies," the company said in a release.
BlackBerry is claiming infringement on patents it holds covering message encryption, battery and message notifications and combining messaging with gaming, according to the lawsuit.
The company claims Facebook and its wholly owned services — Instagram and WhatsApp, which are also named as defendants in the suit — are "relative latecomers to the mobile messaging world."
Blackberry is seeking injunctive relief and damages accounting for lost profits. No specific dollar figure was given.
"We have a lot of respect for Facebook and the value they've placed on messaging capabilities, some of which were invented by BlackBerry. As a cybersecurity and embedded software leader, BlackBerry's view is that Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp could make great partners in our drive toward a securely connected future, and we continue to hold this door open to them," BlackBerry said.
Facebook "created mobile messaging applications that co-opt BlackBerry's innovations, using a number of the innovative security, user interface, and functionality enhancing features that made BlackBerry's products such a critical and commercial success in the first place," according to the suit.
Facebook did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
--CNBC's John Shinal contributed to this report.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
cnbc.com |
