Ryan Seacrest, #5 on University Herald's 2013 Man Crushes of the Year, is now on the wrong kind of list after BlackBerry announced on Friday it was suing his company, Typo Products, LLC, for copyright infringement, CNET reported.
BlackBerry accused Seacrest and the company he founded a few years ago of copying their keyboard design. Considering that the keyboard is about 99 percent of Typo's product, it could be a huge blow for the company.
The $99 gadget in which Seacrest and another partner have invested over $1 million is essentially a clip on keyboard specifically designed for iPhones. According to Seacrest, everyone in Hollywood/Los Angeles carries two cellphones because of how difficult typing is on iPhones (but how much easier it makes everything else); rather than owning a phone strictly for typing, Seacrest combined them into one with the Typo Keyboard. It's been available for pre-order for some time now, and it will finally ship on Jan. 14, now pending BlackBerry's lawsuit. The accessory is also scheduled to go on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which begins next week, according to USA Today.
"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," Steve Zipperstein, BlackBerry's General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, said in the company's press release. "From the beginning, BlackBerry has always focused on offering an exceptional typing experience that combines a great design with ergonomic excellence. We are flattered by the desire to graft our keyboard onto other smartphones, but we will not tolerate such activity without fair compensation for using our intellectual property and our technological innovations."
