Blackberry sues Avaya for copyright infringements

Blackberry is suing unified communications vendor Avaya, claiming it has infringed on eight US patents dating back to 1998.

The smartphone vendor alleges that Avaya used Blackberry's copyrighted IP in products ranging from IP desk phones, video conferencing systems and software.

Blackberry said that Avaya was made aware of the alleged infringement in a letter sent on 17 December 2015.

Blackberry is seeking damages for the alleged infringement including lost profits, along with a "reasonable royalty".

The list of copyright infringements Blackberry is claiming is:

• No. 9,143,801 and No. 8,964,849, two systems used for encoding and decoding video data for "significant maps". Blackberry claimed the systems were used in Avaya's Scopia XT video conferencing product.
• No. 8,116,739, a method of displaying data and voice messages. Blackberry said it was used in the Avaya Communicator for iPad application.
• No. 8,886,212, a method of launching a GPS within an instant messaging application. Blackberry said it was used in the Avaya one-X mobile application used for communication.
• No. 8,688,439, a method to decode speech. Blackberry said it had been used in a series of Avaya's IP deskphones.
• No. 7,440,561, a method of establishing a connection with multiple devices that use the same telephone number. Avaya has used a similar system in multiple products, according to Blackberry.
• No. 8,554,218, a system used to route outbound telephone calls through an enterprise communication network.
• No. 7,372,961, a method used to generate a cryptographic public key.

Earlier this year, Blackberry chief executive John Chen told investors that the company was in "patent licensing mode", and would be looking to monetise its 38,000 patents.

The vendor has struggled to recover ground in the competitive smartphone market, and has begun its transition into security and software over the past few years.

Avaya's Australian arm has been in turmoil in recent times, going through four managing directors in the space of just two years - with Peter Chidiac now in the hot seat.