Viber targeted in patent lawsuit
South Korean mobile phone company SK Telecom has revealed that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against global instant messaging service Viber, according to reports.
The lawsuit was revealed on Monday (October 27) by the Yonhap news agency, which quoted a senior SK official as saying the suit was filed earlier this year.
It was initially due to focus on claims that Viber infringed four patents, but one was reportedly dropped by SK and two more invalidated by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.
Viber is now apparently fighting over one patent, although details of the technology it covers have not been revealed.
"The lawsuit is aimed at protecting the company's patent rights and prevent [our] business models being infringed," an SK official said. "We cannot open other details, as the lawsuit is still going on at a court."
Viber, which launched in 2010, runs on platforms including Windows 8, Android and iOS. It has around 360 million users in 193 countries.
In an interview with Yonhap, Talmon Marco, chief executive and founder of Viber, said he was “surprised” it had been targeted.
“When we got that lawsuit, we were quite surprised," he said.
"Viber does not compete in Korea. We are not big in Korea ... We are thinking they are looking for easier target.”
He added: "I think I am very optimistic about our chances of winning”.
