14 DAY TRIAL // A while back, radio personality, television host and producer Ryan Seacrest thought he came up with a golden idea. At some point in time he switched from a BlackBerry to an iPhone, but still missed the physical keyboard on the 'berry.
So he created Typo, a start-up that made cases for the iPhone with keyboards built-in. The idea soon took off and even if one unit could be pre-ordered for $99 / €78, Typo was immediately sold out.
BlackBerry saw this and wasn’t happy at all. So much that the Canadian company actually took legal actions by filing an injunction against Typo for ripping off the design of its iconic keyboard.
But Typo didn’t seem too bothered by the situation, so it continued selling its cases even after the injunction. But this week the story has come to an abrupt end.
Typo's disobedience didn't go unnoticed
A federal judge ruled that Typo Products must pay BlackBerry up to $860,000 / €756,000 for violating the injunction which forbids the startup from selling its iPhone cases, reports Recode.
BlackBerry initially asked for $2.6 / €2.29 million in penalties and attorney’s fees, but the judge didn't see fit to award the entire sum.
For its part, Typo argued that BlackBerry has not shown it lost any sales as a result of Typo’s ignoring of the injunction and continuing selling its hotly debated cases, but the judge felt that the start-up’s failure to comply to court orders had to be sanctioned.
Ever since the legal battle started to unfold between the two companies, Typo also rolled Typo 2 case, which is not affected by the injunction we’re talking about here.
The Typo 2 case for the iPhone 6 has been introduced in December 2014, although an iPhone 5/5s version is also available.
BlackBerry sued the start-up back in January 2014, not very long after the Typo made its debut into the wild. But the accessory’s success has convinced Ryan Seacrest the path is worth taking.
With the Typo 2, the company says it is not infringing on any BlackBerry patents, and the Canadian company hasn't currently commented anything on this particular matter.
