Research In Motion (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry PDA, has sued
rival company Handspring, alleging that Handspring’s Treo
Communicator series infringes a RIM patent covering “unique”
keyboard features.
The patent in question was filed in July and granted on Tuesday.
It covers “a hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimised
for use with the thumbs.” RIM alleges that Handspring’s Treo
series, featuring a small keyboard that can be used with thumbs, is
“remarkably similar” to the keyboard in the RIM BlackBerry Wireless
Handheld devices.
In the lawsuit, RIM asks for a declaration that Handspring
infringes the patent, a court order to forbid sales of the Treo,
and unspecified damages.
RIM also sued rival company Good Technology for alleged
misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, unfair
competition, civil conspiracy and other alleged offences. It is the
fourth lawsuit that RIM has filed against the company, whose
software is designed to run on RIM devices.
