BlackBerry may not be the leader in the global smartphone market anymore but the company does own a treasure trove of patents. As investors raise concerns about the growth rate at its core security-focused software business, the company is looking through its library of wireless and messaging patents to find more opportunities for licensing deals and even lawsuits. After filing a similar lawsuit against Facebook last month, BlackBerry has now sued Snapchat for patent infringement.
The 71-page complaint against Snapchat maker Snap alleges that the company has infringed on its messaging technology patents in the Snapchat app. The patents Snap is alleged to have infringed on include map improvements and UI for mobile devices as well as advertising methods. It also mentions that Snap Maps and the display count of unread messages are infringing activities as well.
Bloomberg mentions in its report that two of the six patents that BlackBerry has alleged Snap to have infringed on are also in the suit against Facebook that was filed on March 6th. Its suit against the social media giant alleged Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram of infringing on its messaging app patents.
The complaint also mentions that BlackBerry has tried to resolve this matter out of court by communicating with Snap for over a year but to no avail. It now seeks “redress for the harm” caused by Snap’s alleged patent infringement with this lawsuit.
Snap is yet to comment on the matter.
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