HIGHLIGHTS
- Critics have given BlackBerry 10 favourable reviews.
- Jury selection was supposed to begin on Thursday, but BlackBerry moved its attention to cybersecurity.
BlackBerry intends to resolve an eight-year-old lawsuit alleging that company deceived shareholders by overstating demand for the BlackBerry 10.
In a petition with the US District Court in Manhattan on Wednesday, attorneys for BlackBerry and the shareholders requested that the trial be adjourned so that they may negotiate a preliminary settlement, which requires the judge's permission.
Jury selection was supposed to begin on Thursday. The shareholders' lawyers did not immediately reply to demands for comment.
While the BlackBerry 10 received favourable reviews from critics, the general public preferred Android-based smartphones and Apple's iPhone, leading to BlackBerry's 2016 decision to discontinue phone production.
Shareholders accused the Waterloo, Ontario-based business, which has since shifted its focus to cybersecurity, of misrepresenting BlackBerry 10's genuine sales prospects in public remarks during 2013, resulting in an inflated share price. BlackBerry said in February that it will sell its legacy patents mostly related to mobile devices, messaging, and wireless networking to a special purpose corporation created to buy the company's patent portfolio for $600 million (approximately Rs. 4,490 crore).
BlackBerry stated that the deal with Catapult IP Innovations will have no effect on customers' use of its products or services.
The decision comes only weeks after BlackBerry discontinued service for its once-ubiquitous business handsets, which were carried by CEOs, politicians, and legions of enthusiasts in the early 2000s.
