BlackBerry has filed a lawsuit against Snap Inc., alleging that the latter company’s social network is infringing in BlackBerry’s messaging patents.
The patents in question were awarded to BlackBerry between 2012 and 2014 and cover a range of technologies concerning mobile messaging. Snap is the creator of the Snapchat app, a service popular for sharing ephemeral messages and stories.
“BlackBerry has a well-earned reputation for protecting and securing our customers’ data and privacy. For more than a year we have been working to establish a dialogue with Snap as we believe there are far more opportunities for partnership than disagreement. While we continue to hold this door open, we also have a strong claim that Snap infringed on our intellectual property, harmed our shareholders, and we have an obligation to pursue appropriate legal remedies,” said BlackBerry in a statement.
BlackBerry filed similar lawsuits against Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram last month. BlackBerry’s core business is selling enterprise-grade software and services, but patent litigation has become part of BlackBerry’s business strategy under CEO John Chen.
TCL now manufactures BlackBerry-branded handsets. Snap did not immediately respond to the lawsuit.
