Facebook continues patent war with BlackBerry
Social media platform Facebook continued a patent war with BlackBerry yesterday, after it accused the Canadian company of infringing several inventions, including voice-messaging technology.
The complaint was filed at the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
Facebook alleged that BlackBerry has infringed six patents: US numbers 8,429,231; 7,567,575; 6,356,841; 7,228,432; 6,744,759; and 7,302,698.
The patents protect different technology developed by Facebook including instant voice messaging, telephone service configuration, computer security, personalised multimedia services, and a GPS management system.
Facebook’s technology investments included research and development expenses of $7.75 billion in 2017, according to the claim.
“Facebook makes significant investments in technology both to improve Facebook’s existing products and services and to develop new ones, as well as for Facebook’s marketers and developers,” the social media platform said in its complaint.
It added that the company is investing in strengthening the platform’s security.
Facebook alleged that BlackBerry’s technology, such as its instant messaging service BBM Enterprise, and device management service BlackBerry UEM, incorporate the patents.
According to the claim, BlackBerry’s allegedly infringing activity has caused and will continue to cause damage to Facebook.
Facebook has requested damages and costs for expenses incurred when filing the action.
This is not the first time the companies have gone head-to-head over alleged patent infringement.
In March this year, WIPR reported that BlackBerry sued Facebook, alongside its subsidiaries Instagram and WhatsApp, for allegedly infringing four patents relating to BlackBerry’s messaging technologies.
Facebook responded to the allegations by filing a motion to dismiss BlackBerry’s claim in June. According to Facebook, BlackBerry’s patents show no “inventive concept”, do not solve a technical problem and “add nothing of substance to the underlying idea”.
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