TECHNOLOGY: The company, Blackberry claims that Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp violate its patents
The Canadian technology company, Blackberry, which stopped making smartphones to concentrate on software, said Tuesday it filed a complaint against Facebook for violating its patents for messaging applications of the US social network.
BlackBerry accuses Facebook, and its subsidiaries Instagram and WhatsApp, of violating the patents it holds on the encoding of messages and notifications. The Canadian group is seeking an injunction against the social network, as well as damages for the losses incurred, although it has not provided any amount.
“We have a lot of respect for Facebook and the importance it attaches to e-mail capabilities, some of which were invented by BlackBerry,” said BlackBerry spokeswoman Sarah McKinney in a statement.
Features used by everyone
BlackBerry wants to partner with “Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp” for a “connected and secure future,” the statement said. “However, we are justified in claiming that Facebook has violated our intellectual property, and after many years of dialogue, we also have an obligation to our shareholders to use the appropriate legal remedies,” said BlackBerry.
According to the complaint, the company claims to have patented the icon showing the number of unread messages in a conversation. It is unclear why the company targets Facebook, while all modern couriers use a relatively similar interface.
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
“Having stopped innovating …”
Facebook has strongly denied to AFP these accusations that “unfortunately reflect the state of messaging activities” of the Canadian group, according to Paul Grewal, deputy director of Facebook’s legal department. “After having stopping innovation, BlackBerry is now looking to tax the innovation of others. We intend to fight, “he added.
After abandoning the manufacture of phones, BlackBerry has refocused on its core business in security software and assistance to businesses and administrations.
