BlackBerry inks licensing deal with Timex

BlackBerry might no longer be in the hardware market but it has been busy signing licensing agreements with other companies. Its latest deal is with Timex, which gives the watchmaker access to over 40,000 patents. Android Authority speculates this could possibly lead to a BlackBerry-branded smartwatch. But this must be taken with more than just a grain of salt. BlackBerry has patents all over, including “wireless communications, networking infrastructure, acoustics, messaging, enterprise software, operating systems, virtualization, and cybersecurity.” The deal could lead to other products. BlackBerry is keeping mum about the possibility of a smartwatch in our future.

But we at least know it might focus on mobile communications. According to BlackBerry senior director of intellectual property licensing Jerald Gnuschke, “This license agreement with Timex demonstrates the strength of BlackBerry’s patent portfolio, and will enable us to focus on further patent licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market.”

Casio partners with Microsoft for wearable patents licensing deal

The Android Wear 2.0-powered Casio WSD-F20

Casio inks a deal with Microsoft so the tech company will share its wearable patents with the watchmaker. This agreement includes a “broad coverage” of Microsoft’s smartwatch technologies including patents for operating systems, connectivity, sensors, artificial intelligence, security, etc. Casio can use these technologies to supplement what it’s doing with Android Wear.

The watchmaker partnered with Google for its upcoming Casio WSD-F20, which will run on Android Wear 2.0. But Casio spent some time customizing the OS to offer a unique experience for its product. Wareable speculates Casio can build on this experience and use Microsoft’s other technologies to create compelling and unique wearables.