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Facebook Accuses BlackBerry of Stealing Its Voice-Messaging Tech (bloomberg.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the he-said-she-said dept.

Facebook is suing BlackBerry, claiming the company stole its voice-messaging technology and other patented processes. The social media company is seeking unspecified damages for infringement of six patents. Bloomberg reports: In addition to the voice-messaging patent, Facebook cites infringement of patented technology that improves how a mobile device delivers graphics, video and audio and another that centralizes tracking and analysis of GPS data. In March, BlackBerry sued Facebook in federal court in Los Angeles, accusing the social media giant of infringing on its mobile messaging patents. BlackBerry claimed Facebook made unauthorized use of its technology in its own instant messenger service, Facebook Messenger, and in WhatsApp Messenger and Instagram.

28 comments

  1. This is surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First, Facebook has voice messaging technology.
    Second, Blackberry is still in business.

    I can't possibly care which one of them wins this case though.

  2. You want to admit that? by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why would either of these companies want to publicly admit that they've been rummaging through each other's trash bins. That's a bit like being a musician and deciding to rip off Kesha.

    If you're going to steal, find someone actually worth stealing from.

    1. Re:You want to admit that? by zlives · · Score: 1

      i can see a struggling company like BB going for patent trolling... i guess FB is feeling the pinch too?!! 24% user drop in US?

    2. Re:You want to admit that? by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      i can see a struggling company like BB going for patent trolling... i guess FB is feeling the pinch too?!! 24% user drop in US?

      Not 24% user drop unfortunately. 24% less people using the "app" on their phone. Presumably most don't use phone or use website on phone instead.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    3. Re:You want to admit that? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      BlackBerry has had that feature on BBM since before Facebook even existed so I think it will be a tough case to win.

  3. Bizarre! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who do you root for? A behemoth AKA Facebook or a crumb eating bum BlackBerry?

    1. Re: Bizarre! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I donâ(TM)t know butt Iâ(TM)m going to root your ass good!!!!!!

    2. Re: Bizarre! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Make sure those trademarks are really yours before going root! Or stop using a stupid device that feels the need to insert utf8 where it doesn't belong. Although you appear to like that sort of thing.

    3. Re: Bizarre! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Iâ(TM)m gonna fuck youâ(TM)re assðYðY'ðY'©ðY'©ðY'©ðY'©

    4. Re:Bizarre! by sonamchauhan · · Score: 1

      The generic public who ultimately pay the price of excessively broad patents in the form of higher prices for goods and services, and more and more ads attacking our limited attention span.

  4. First World ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Last world Problems; (if I care about this it must be the end of everything...)

  5. Standard Operating Procedure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What the post in slashdot fails to mention, but the actual article does mention is that BB first sued FB for patent infringement in March. This is the normal response to patent litigation which is to comb through your patents and find anything possible to counter sue with. Assuming both sides have legitimate complaints and their patents do apply to each other, eventually they'll sign an agreement to license each other's patents. In the end nothing will have happened of consequence other than a waste of company resources and the lawyers for each respective company trying to prove they are needed.

  6. BB actually created technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    BB actually created technology, that's not trolling, that's licensing. Facebook on the other hand? I'd be surprised if there's anything not slimy in the whole organization. To quote a friend "I quit when I realized that there wasn't anything redeeming in the entire enterprise."

    1. Re: BB actually created technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      agreed and BB are the only ones that still makes phones with a real keyboards instead of that annoying virtual keyboard

  7. patents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not that I have any love for Facebook, but patent infringement suits couldn't happen to a nicer company than Blackberry/RIM

    RIM has been suing the world over its patents for some time now.
    Some as simple as how to track a mobile phone and generating a certificate private key

    Pretty sure they even claimed to have invented NTP. Not clock syncing in general, but the NTP protocol specifically.

    1. Re:patents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pretty sure they even claimed to have invented NTP. Not clock syncing in general, but the NTP protocol specifically.

      Are you talking about the patent troll company NTP that won a landmark case against RIM over a decade ago?

      What was your goal here?

  8. What did one dinosaur say to the other? by TheDarkener · · Score: 1

    I dunno, they both died.

    --
    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
  9. Fuck Patents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck the whole corpocracy.

  10. Facebook is one to throw stones by WCMI92 · · Score: 1

    Considering that Zuck stole the whole idea from others to begin with!

    --
    Corporatism != Free Market
    1. Re: Facebook is one to throw stones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hope they sue each-other to oblivion!!! Fuck em both!

  11. Perverse Incentive to being a patent troll by sonamchauhan · · Score: 2

    Perverse Incentive: DO NOT, under any circumstances, make any products. That way, you don't infringe anything. Just sue everything who happens to 'infringe' on your excessively broad patents.

    The patent system should force inventors to *demonstrate* their invention to a panel of peers, whose responses should be considered.

    This boy, for example, should have been forced to demonstrate his unique method of swinging to playground buddies:
    https://www.newscientist.com/a...

    1. Re:Perverse Incentive to being a patent troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That has largely been fixed which is why patent trolls are now slowly dying. Intellectual Ventures had to actual 'do' something with all their patents and in general they are struggling with all their purchased crap patents that are unenforceable. Nathan Myhrvold has lost billions and serves Bill Gates right for believing in such a scam.

    2. Re:Perverse Incentive to being a patent troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As long as obvious patents can be granted to large companies, they can abuse the patent system... The more obvious the patent, the easier it is to actually use the patent to something and demonstrate the patent I would think.

  12. obligatory by astrofurter · · Score: 1

    Patents stifle innovation.

    End software patents now!

  13. So Messenger intercepts your GPS by UpnAtom · · Score: 1

    From the article: "centralizes tracking and analysis of GPS data."

    Good to know.

  14. How did they patent voice messages? by sabbede · · Score: 2

    Seriously, what prior art wasn't there? My iPhone has had the feature for I don't know how long, plus there's things like voicemail. Or emailing sound files. Recording a sound clip and sending it to someone is such a basic concept that I don't see how anyone could have done it in such a novel way that it was worth a patent.

  15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUeHi47Lovo by ASSIYA · · Score: 1

    (Death Sea)!! !! #banglatechaaak #deathsea