Ryan Seacrest is a jack of all trades, but he now has a new challenge: fighting a patent suit.
BlackBerry on Friday filed suit against Typo Products for "blatantly copying" the signature BlackBerry keyboard with its new iPhone accessory.
Seacrest is an investor in Typo, and reportedly handed over more than $1 million with his co-founder for the venture. Built for the iPhone 5 and 5s, the two-piece accessory slides onto the handset, covering the home button and serving as a protective casing and full keyboard.
BlackBerry, however, said the Typo Keyboard Case violates its intellectual property rights.
"This is a blatant infringement against BlackBerry's iconic keyboard, and we will vigorously protect our intellectual property against any company that attempts to copy our unique design," Steve Zipperstein, BlackBerry's General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, said in a statement.
"From the beginning, BlackBerry has always focused on offering an exceptional typing experience that combines a great design with ergonomic excellence," Zipperstein said. "We are flattered by the desire to graft our keyboard onto other smartphones, but we will not tolerate such activity without fair compensation for using our intellectual property and our technological innovation."
BlackBerry said that its "iconic physical keyboard designs have been recognized by the press and the public as a significant market differentiator for its mobile handheld devices."
BlackBerry said Typo is infringing on two utility patents, a design patent, and BlackBerry's Trade Dress.
Typo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ironically, a reliance on that signature keyboard likely contributed to BlackBerry's existing problems, as it failed to embrace the touch-screen trend in a timely (or adequate) manner, and was trounced in the market by Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Android devices.
BlackBerry looked to Alicia Keys to reinvigorate the brand last year, but the company recently parted ways with the singer, not to mention CEO Thorsten Heins.
UPDATE: Typo issued the following statement: "We are aware of the lawsuit that Blackberry filed today against Typo Products. Although we respect Blackberry and its intellectual property, we believe that Blackberry's claims against Typo lack merit and we intend to defend the case vigorously. We are excited about our innovative keyboard design, which is the culmination of years of development and research. The Typo keyboard has garnered an overwhelmingly positive response from the public. We are also looking forward to our product launch at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week and remain on track to begin shipping pre-orders at the end of January."