BlackBerry Gets Injunction Stopping Sale of Typo iPhone Keyboard Case

BlackBerry won a key ruling late Friday, blocking the sale of the Typo, a Ryan Seacrest-backed keyboard case for the iPhone.

The Canadian phone maker sued in January seeking to halt the sale of the device, which it says infringes on its patents.

A federal judge late Friday ruled that BlackBerry was likely to prevail and issued a preliminary injunction halting sales of the case.

“BlackBerry has established a likelihood of proving that Typo infringes the patents at issue and Typo has not presented a substantial question of the validity of those patents,” Judge William Orrick wrote in the ruling. “In addition, the balance of equities and the public interest weigh in favor of granting a preliminary injunction.”

Typo said in a statement that it was disappointed and plans to appeal, adding that it “will continue to make and sell innovative products that busy people can’t live without.”

BlackBerry, naturally, praised the ruling. BlackBerry has said it plans to create more keyboard-equipped phones, saying it sees its keyboard as a key differentiator.

BlackBerry is pleased that its motion for a preliminary injunction against Typo Products LLC was granted. As a result of this ruling, Typo and all parties attempting to act in concert or participation with them, will be prohibited from making, using, selling, marketing, importing or distributing its Typo keyboard case until the litigation is resolved. This ruling will help prevent further injury to BlackBerry from Typo’s blatant theft of our patented keyboard technology.

While we are flattered by the desire to graft our keyboard onto other smartphones, we will not tolerate the deliberate use of our iconic design without proper permission. We are proud of our keyboard and will vigorously protect our intellectual property against any company that infringes our rights or attempts to copy our unique designs and patented technology.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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