BlackBerry Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Twitter

BlackBerry, the once-maker of the BlackBerry mobile phone, has filed a lawsuit against Twitter contending the social media platform operator engaged in patent infringement.

According to a report in Reuters citing the lawsuit, BlackBerry contends Twitter infringed on patents covering its technology in its mobile message apps.  The lawsuit alleges Twitter was a “relative latecomer” to the mobile messaging market and aimed to compensate for that by using BlackBerry’s technology for its main Twitter app and Twitter Ads without its permission. BlackBerry contends Twitter infringed on six patents of the company and argued it try to take what was already good as its own.

The lawsuit is similar to patent infringement suits BlackBerry lodged against Facebook and Snap, maker of SnapChat, the disappearing messaging app, last year. U.S. District Court Judge George Wu in August gave BlackBerry the go-ahead to pursue its patent infringement claims against Facebook and Snap. The two cases are still open, noted Reuters. The same judge could be assigned the Twitter case as well.

BlackBerry was once a leader in the mobile phone market with its iconic BlackBerry device, but in 2016 it got out of the handset market, focusing on developing software that managed mobile devices and self-driving vehicles.

Earlier this month BlackBerry announced the acquisition of Cylance, a Calfornia company that makes software for self-driving cars. BlackBerry paid $1.4 billion in cash to acquire the company that had been gearing up for an initial public offering.  In a press release announcing the deal, BlackBerry’s Chief Executive John Chen said the acquisition puts it on the path to become the world leader in AI cybersecurity. “Securing endpoints and the data that flows between them is absolutely critical in today’s hyperconnected world. By adding Cylance’s technology to our arsenal of cybersecurity solutions, we will help enterprises intelligently connect, protect and build secure endpoints that users can trust,” he said in a deal announcement.