The cross-platform messaging service Kik has seen its popularity explode as of late, offering a service similar to BlackBerry's BBM to iOS, Android, and BlackBerry owners.  RIM hasn't been as pleased with the service as everyone else, though, removing Kik from the BlackBerry App World and killing support for the service on all BlackBerrys.  Now RIM has taken things a step further, filing suit against Kik for alleged patent infringement.  There's no word on just what RIM is claiming that Kik infringed on, but many suspect that it has to do with the sent, delivered, and read notifications found in Kik.

With around 2.5 million users, Kik seems to be the first viable alternative to RIM's BBM service, especially since Kik is available on both iPhone and Android as well.  The big question with this suit is this: is RIM suing the first major BBM alternative because they were starting to feel a little nervous about Kik's success?  I'm sure that RIM feels that they have a solid case against Kik, otherwise they wouldn't have gone forward with the suit, but it's something to consider.  What do you all make of this lawsuit?

Via BGR, David Lam