Blackberry sues Twitter over patent infringement

BlackBerry has sued Twitter on patent infringement, accusing the open communication platform of illegally using its mobile messaging technology.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for Central California, seeks compensation for lost revenue and unspecified enhanced damages, CNET reported late Wednesday.

BlackBerry has alleged Twitter infringed on six of its patents, like push notifications, silencing notifications for a message thread and mobile advertising techniques.

"The lawsuit accuses the micro-blogging site of co-opting BlackBerry's technology for use in several services, including the main Twitter app and Twitter Ads," said the report.

Twitter was yet to comment on the lawsuit.

Software major BlackBerry in 2018 sued Facebook and its subsidiaries -- photo sharing app Instagram and messaging service WhatsApp.

The suit alleged that Facebook has infringed on some of BlackBerry's patents including security features, mobile notifications, and combining gaming with messaging.

"Blackberry's suit sadly reflects the current state of its messaging business. Having abandoned its efforts to innovate, Blackberry is now looking to tax the innovation of others. We intend to fight," Facebook had replied.

BlackBerry also sued Snap, for allegedly infringing its patented messaging technology in the Snapchat app.

In the fresh lawsuit against Twitter, BlackBerry alleged Twitter "has succeeded in diverting consumers away from BlackBerry's products and services".

--IANS

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