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BlackBerry Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram (reuters.com)
BlackBerry on Tuesday filed patent infringement lawsuit against Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram in Los Angeles Federal court. In a statement, BlackBerry said: We have a lot of respect for Facebook and the value they've placed on messaging capabilities, some of which were invented by BlackBerry. As a cybersecurity and embedded software leader, BlackBerry's view is that Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp could make great partners in our drive toward a securely connected future, and we continue to hold this door open to them. However, we have a strong claim that Facebook has infringed on our intellectual property, and after several years of dialogue, we also have an obligation to our shareholders to pursue appropriate legal remedies.
Please check my facts, but RIM (BlackBerry) was sued/settled for something like 500 million by NTP in the USA for pretty lame reasons back in RIM's heyday. The legal system set the stage for this, I think RIM might very well be entitled to their claims and lawsuit against Facebook/etc. When RIM was doing great, these nimrods (NTP) came out of the woodwork and cashed in. RIM is doing poorly, it's time for them to make a few 'easy' bucks too it seems. Don't blame the player, blame the game.
Blackberry had to get rid of their technical people to pay for the infringement lawsuit they eventually lost over NTP's nonsensical "email over cellular" patent. Crucially, that happened just as the industry was transitioning from phones with enhanced features, to smartphones (phones which could run any generic app). The timing of the lawsuit pretty much took the wind out of Blackberry's R&D sails 1-2 years before Apple introduced the iPhone.
NTP's patents were eventually overturned. But that didn't help Blackberry because they'd already entered a contract to settle the patent dispute. i.e. Their payment was to stop the lawsuit, not based on the merits of the patent. There was no way for them to get the money back.
In other words, Blackberry has been reduced to a patent lawsuit-flinging troll because they themselves were the victim of such a troll. Pity them, don't ridicule them. It could just as easily have been you if you'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
You are mistaking patents for trademarks. With patents, you don't sue right away so they can design around your patent and you get nothing, you wait a few years for damages to acrue. Then you collect a payday. But if you can fucking read, you'll see they've tried negotiations before, for years.