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Research In Motion Files Patent Lawsuit Against Kik Messenger

11:04 am on December 1, 2010 | Category: Business, Cell Phones, Law, Messaging, Mobile Devices, PDAs, Software, Web Services

Shortly after banning the popular Kik Messenger application from its mobile software store, Research In Motion has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the developers of the app.

Kik Messenger is a free instant chat program that was available on BlackBerry devices for two weeks, during which time it amassed mroe than a million users. Kik provided many of the same features as RIM’s in-house BlackBerry Messenger software, and was quickly made available on iPhone and Android devices as well.

“RIM became aware of a number of issues and customer concerns regarding the Kik app and service. Following discussions with Kik, the app was removed from BlackBerry App World on November 12,” the BlackBerry manufacturer said in a statement. “Upon further investigation, RIM concluded that Kik had breached contractual obligations. Based on the broad scope and seriousness of the issues and concerns, RIM terminated its agreements with Kik and withdrew RIM’s support for Kik’s service.”

Kik CEO, Ted Livingston, who previously worked for RIM as a systems engineer and technical product co-ordinator, acknowledged that his program was similar to BlackBerry Messenger, but said he hoped it wasn’t banned for competitive reasons. He declined to comment on the patent infringement lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday in the Federal Court of Canada.

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