Last month, we told you about a new startup called Typo Keyboard that’s backed and co-founded by TV/radio personality Ryan Seacrest. The story behind it was that Seacrest was so frustrated with the iPhone’s lack of a physical keyboard that he decided to personally invest $1 million in a solution.
We called the Typo keyboard accessory “BlackBerry-inspired” at the time, which was a mild way of saying that it looks like a complete ripoff of Blackberry’s layout. Blackberry isn’t happy, and the company has now sued Seacrest’s startup.
“This is a blatant infringement against BlackBerry’s iconic keyboard, and we will vigorously protect our intellectual property against any company that attempts to copy our unique design,” BlackBerry said in a statement provided to The Wall Street Journal.
Anyone with a pair of working eyeballs would be inclined to agree. It’s like Seacrest enjoyed the keyboard on his Blackberry so much that he decided to just put it on the iPhone. Screw IP!
The Typo Keyboard is available for preorder at $99, with shipping scheduled to start this month. It will be shown off in public for the first time at CES next week, so expect a hands-on soon.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
