Everything apple vs motorola
Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked during Apple's Q2 2012 conference call how he felt about ongoing patent litigation, and whether he might be more open to a settlement or resolution than his predecessor, Steve Jobs might have been. Cooks answer was pretty much the same now as it was before he became CEO -- he doesn't like litigation, but he also doesn't like other companies using what he feels are Apple innovations to sell competing products.
Apple is going to owe Motorola damages for infringing on push e-mail patents currently being used by iCloud and Mobile, so sayeth the Mannheim, Germany regional court.
According to some EU court documents, Motorola and Apple had talked about hashing out a licensing deal in late 2011. Given their rough and ongoing patent battles, it's no surprise to hear Apple claim in the documents that their "refusal to accede to this demand led Motorola Mobility to sue Apple in an attempt to exclude Apple’s products from the market.”
Motorola and Apple are still duking it out in courts over a wide variety patents, but recently Apple made a significant step towards victory. A U.S. judge in Chicago ruled that information about Google's acquisition of Motorola is a key part of Apple's claims against Motorola. The ruling also means that Apple we get some key information about the development of Android, and potentially find other cases of infringement there.
A German appeals court has issued a temporary ruling that prevents Motorola (currently in the process of being acquired by Google) from enforcing a ban on Apple iPhones and iPads based on what may be FRAND-absuing terms. Bloomberg reports:
Unfortunate and possibly infuriating news for German iCloud and MobileMe users today, as Apple has apparently been forced to turn off push email as a result of a lawsuit by Motorola Mobility.
Apple is increasingly playing defense against lawsuits from Samsung and Motorola that seek to take iPhones and iPads off the shelves and out of stores. Apple is trying to do the same to their competitors, of course, but there's a subtle difference -- Samsung and Motorola are suing Apple over FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, And Non-Discriminatory) patents and are apparently seeking licensing that's anything but fair and reasonable, and may in fact be discriminatory.
The International Trade Commission (ITC)'s Administrative Law Judge has ruled in favor of Motorola Mobility, saying the new Google acquisition and maker of fine, Corellian-styles Android phones doesn't violate 3 of Apple's multitouch patents. Scott Offer, senior vice president and general counsel for Moto, had this to say:
"Hmm, I'm losing in Germany and Australia, but if I can just secure Canada and Mauritius...!"
