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Typo Keyboard For iPhone Faces Sales Ban

Posted by samzenpus on from the no-typing-for-you dept.

time_lords_almanac (3527081) writes "BlackBerry is trying to put the kibosh on the Typo, a physical keyboard attachment for iPhone. And they've won the first round, in the form of a sales ban on the attachment. From the article: '"BlackBerry is pleased that its motion for a preliminary injunction against Typo Products LLC was granted. This ruling will help prevent further injury to BlackBerry from Typo's blatant theft of our patented keyboard technology," a spokeswoman for BlackBerry told the news agency in an email.'"

20 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. patented keyboard technology? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Because, you know, physical keyboards are such an advancing field.... I can't imagine how awful keyboards would be with out BlackBerry's patented technology.

    1. Re:patented keyboard technology? by kelemvor4 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Because, you know, physical keyboards are such an advancing field.... I can't imagine how awful keyboards would be with out BlackBerry's patented technology.

      Advancing? Hardly, there are patents and so no advancement is possible.

    2. Re:patented keyboard technology? by TWX · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I hadn't heard of this keyboard until this Slashdot article.

      With the angle-topped keys and the particular choice of layout, I think that I actually agree with Blackberry on this one, though I'd think this would fall into trademark territory more than patent technology. Maybe the curved ridges on the keys somehow have a patent I guess...

      --
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    3. Re:patented keyboard technology? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What advancement? The typo keyboard is virtually a 1 for 1 copy of the Q10 keyboard. They didn't even bother changing the colour of the frets.

      You guys would be pretty pissed if "6oo6le" copied Google to the point of even using the playskool colour theme on the letters, but it's A-OK to rip off BlackBerry 100% because you don't like them.

      Hypocrites.

    4. Re:patented keyboard technology? by TheGavster · · Score: 3, Interesting

      BB did have a patent on the angled keys that they sued Palm over back in the late 90's. It actually is a fairly innovative design that optimizes the direction of the bevel on each key based on the kinematics of your thumbs so that the keys act much larger than they are (if they actually cloned it correctly). It has also become sort of a mark of BB (both because of the exclusivity and the general unpopularity of portrait QWERTY layouts), so I guess that might even be grounds after the patent expires (which has to be coming up soon ...).

      --
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    5. Re:patented keyboard technology? by Baloroth · · Score: 4, Informative

      Really? Because I'm pretty fucking sure they did, in fact, do exactly that. Samsung vs Apple involved patent USD504899, which claims "the ornamental design for an electronic device, substantially as shown and described", to wit a rectangular cuboid with rounded corners. So, yes, Apple did sue Samsung over rounded corners (although the jury did find Samsung did not infringe, that does not change the fact that Apple did in fact sue Samsung over a thin rectangular design with rounded corners.)

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    6. Re:patented keyboard technology? by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 3, Informative

      Your link is for an Apple suit over a design patent. Rounded corners was only a part of that design patent. Anyone can use rounded corners and not violate the design patent. They can't copy the entirety of the design patent. Hence the conclusion that Apple suing over the stand alone concept of rounded corners is a myth.

    7. Re:patented keyboard technology? by LordLimecat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The shape and feel of the keyboards is basically everything there is to the keyboard, and its all basically a copy. Its not even remotely similar to the apple case.

    8. Re:patented keyboard technology? by Sun · · Score: 4, Informative

      Let me see.....

      GP linked to the patent. The patent covers everything shown in the diagram that isn't excluded by means of being drawn in a dotted line. If you check the diagram, the only thing not dotted are the rounded corners and the curve on the back (which just means the "rounded corners" are 3D).

      So, no. This design patent is solely about rounded corners.

      Shachar

    9. Re:patented keyboard technology? by ljw1004 · · Score: 5, Informative

      I think that I actually agree with Blackberry on this one, though I'd think this would fall into trademark territory more than patent technology. Maybe the curved ridges on the keys somehow have a patent I guess...

      Rule of thumb: IP law is so complicated that it's safe to assume that (1) TFA got it wrong, (2) the Slashdot summary and title got it wrong, (3) all slashdot posters (including me) got it wrong, with the sole exception of NewYorkCountryLawyer. I think the only way is to read what the actual filing said, and then look up patents, and then look up the claims section of those patents.

      As far as I can tell, Blackberry complained that Typo Keyboard infringed one or more of:

      * US Patent 7629964 - a patent about the invention of a particular angling+placement of keys on a handheld mobile device where the keys are optimally placed and angled to allow two-thumb typing. It looks like there was thought and extensive user research into figuring out that particular angling and placement. While it was obvious that some kind of angling+placement would be good, I guess no one had done the inventive work to figure out that particular angling+placement.

      * US Patent 8162552 - a patent about the invention of a particular ramping of individual keys for the same end. I know that HP had beveled keys before. This patent is for a particular angling and beveling and crest and so on. Again it looks obvious that some kind of beveling is useful, but I guess no one had done the inventive work to pick out this particular angling and beveling. It looks like anyone who used a DIFFERENT angling and beveling wouldn't infringe on this patent.

      * US Design Patent D685775 - a design patent which is very specifically for Blackberry's design. Design patents are for the ornamental shape of a functional item, and only apply when the design is novel and not the obvious shape for devices. I guess we didn't have the particular Blackberry proportions or layout on other devices before.

      * Blackberry's trade dress. Trade dress is about the recognizable look of a product, that would let consumers readily recognize whether something is distinctively a Blackberry from its distinctive shape, colors etc.

      I don't know on the basis of which of these the temporary sales ban was enacted. But I do know that Blackberry keyboards are indeed nicer to type on than any other phone keyboards I've used, and it really does suggest there was something non-obvious about their research into key placement and contours and their particular results. And I do think that Blackberry keyboards have a distinctive recognizable look. From photos, that Typo keyboard really did look a heck of a lot like a Blackberry in both its overall form. If indeed it also copied the particulars of Blackberry placement/beveling, rather than using any of the INFINITE other possible placement/beveling, then it seems like a slam dunk for Blackberry.

    10. Re:patented keyboard technology? by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 3, Informative

      What advancement? The typo keyboard is virtually a 1 for 1 copy of the Q10 keyboard. They didn't even bother changing the colour of the frets.

      Just a illustrate how blatant a knock-off it is, here's the Typo keyboard from the linked news story, and here's what Typo copied to create it.

  2. Re:How dare they make the user experience better by danomac · · Score: 4, Informative

    Did you even look at the article? That keyboard looks like a blackberry keyboard to me. It's a blatant ripoff of the design. While I think software patents are absurd, this is a copy of a physical device.

  3. Re:So what's the problem? by pollarda · · Score: 3, Informative

    Beveled Keys have been in use since the HP 35 calculator. The HP35 was HP's very first calculator and the first iterations only had printing on a few of the keys -- the rest of the key designations were printed on the board the keys protruded through. The HP41 (early to mid 1980's) had a full alphabet keyboard as well as punctuation and all the keys were beveled. As I understand the patent, it should be thrown out due to prior art or at least obviousness since all the HP keys were beveled.

  4. End times by nbohr1more · · Score: 3, Insightful

    At the twilight of our civilization, endless patent and copyright fights over obvious things. A keyboard at the bottom rather than the side of a phone? Obviously this is a precious work of genius that must be protected at all costs. Soon someone will make a new generation of 8K HDTV's and they will patent "the use of a remote control with 8K HDTV's" When will someone see through this horseshit and revoke these stupid patents.

  5. Re:So what's the problem? by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "Beveled Keys have been in use since the HP 35 calculator. The HP35 was HP's very first calculator and the first iterations only had printing on a few of the keys -- the rest of the key designations were printed on the board the keys protruded through. The HP41 (early to mid 1980's) had a full alphabet keyboard as well as punctuation and all the keys were beveled. As I understand the patent, it should be thrown out due to prior art or at least obviousness since all the HP keys were beveled."

    There exists a thing called a "design patent" which prevents others from copying your style. I could be wrong, but I suspect that is what is at issue here.

  6. Further injury to Blackberry? by JoeyRox · · Score: 5, Funny

    You mean it's possible for someone to destroy Blackberry faster than Blackberry has done itself?

  7. Not taking sides. by MrL0G1C · · Score: 4, Informative

    They have gone further than just putting a keyboard on the iphone, see pic:

    http://www.macrumors.com/2014/...

    They've copied the shape of the keys, the horizontal bars between the keys etc.

    --
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  8. Can't get past the name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why would they name a keyboard "typo"? Even as an amusing meta-reference, it falls flat.

    It's like trying to sell a toilet paper named "Anal Scraper".

  9. Re:Quick, Slashdotters! by rmdingler · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Challenge accepted.

    After playing the role of plaintiff in multiple patent lawsuits concerning relatively miniscule design innovations, the double-edged sword that is the US patent system is now seemingly also willing to slice the apple.

    Perhaps the only hope for reform of the patent system relies on it becoming inconvenient even for it's former proponents?

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    Ernest Hemingway

  10. Re:So what's the problem? by LordLimecat · · Score: 4, Informative

    HP35 keyboard
    Side-by-side Typo vs Blackberry keyboard

    The HP35 isnt even close, and the Typo is a blatant ripoff. I hate patent trolls as much as the next guy, but come on, theres not even room for debate here. Theyre EXACTLY the same. Even ALT and Shift are in the same spots, and the numbers-- which have generally gone across the top on other phones-- are laid out the same way.