Story by
Rachel Kaser
Internet Culture WriterRachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas. She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback Rachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas. She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback riding. Check her Twitter for curmudgeonly criticisms.
If you’re a social media service, then you might want to lock your doors, because it looks like BlackBerry is on the hunt. Its most recent target: Snapchat.
BlackBerry’s first target was Facebook, which it claimed was ripping off messaging tech it’d patented years ago. Now the company is going after Snapchat too, and for much the same reason. This begs the question: who’s next?
You can peruse the lawsuit in full here if you’ve got insomnia. In essence, BlackBerry claims Snapchat is using its tech to compete with it in the mobile messaging space — its exact words are that it “provides undeserved windfall to Snap.”
A few of the specific claims are different. For example, BlackBerry says it invented Snap Map — an interactive map that shows you which other mobile devices are in the area, and a color gradient to show “information about the level and density of documenting activity.”
One of the common points between the two lawsuits is that BlackBerry claims it invented timestamps, or “display of timestamps in a messaging user interface that provides users with appropriate temporal context for their communications.”
Who else in the social media market uses those?
WhatsApp:
Instagram:
Twitter:
BlackBerry also says it invented a “method of providing notifications of unread messages on a wireless communication device, comprising: displaying at least one icon relating to electronic messaging on a graphical user interface of the wireless communication device,” meaning those red numbers on your phone showing you how many messages you have.
Who uses those? Or perhaps I should ask: who doesn’t?
If we’re bringing those up, then I think it’s safe to say BlackBerry is going to be in litigation for quite some time before it gets to everyone. Of course, the judge in the Facebook case may rule against them, which will make suing everyone else a little more difficult.
I doubt BlackBerry will let that stop them, though.
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