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BlackBerry Ltd has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Facebook, arguing that the social networking platform copied technology and features from Blackberry Messenger for its WhatsApp and Instagram apps.
“Defendants created mobile messaging applications that co-opt BlackBerry’s innovations, using a number of the innovative security, user interface, and functionality enhancing features,” Canada-based BlackBerry said in a filing with a Los Angeles federal court on Tuesday.
“We have a strong claim that Facebook has infringed on our intellectual property, and after several years of dialog, we also have an obligation to our shareholders to pursue appropriate legal remedies,” BlackBerry spokeswoman Sarah McKinney said.
Facebook responded through its Deputy General Counsel Paul Grewal who pointed out that “blackberry suit sadly reflects the current state of its messaging business”.
According to Grewal, “having abandoned its efforts to innovate, Blackberry is now looking to tax the innovation of others. We intend to fight”
After losing market share in the smartphone market it once dominated, BlackBerry shifted its focus to cybersecurity software and has also invested in operating systems for self driving cars.
Last year, BlackBerry filed lawsuits against Nokia , Avaya and most notably Qualcomm, for which it was awarded nearly $1 billion.