Motorola sues Apple for alleged patent infringement

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Motorola announced on Wednesday that its subsidiary, Motorola Mobility Inc., filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, accusing the iPhone, iPod touch and certain Macs infringe on patents.



Motorola Mobility has alleged the violation of 18 patents it owns, related to a range of technologies including 3G, GPRS, 802.11 wireless and antenna design. Accused Apple products include MobileMe and the App Store.



Motorola claims that it attempted to license technology to Apple, and engaged in "lengthy negotiations" with the iPhone maker, but a deal could not be reached. The company alleged that Apple "refused" to pay for a license.



The complaint was filed against Apple in two U.S. districts: the Northern District of Illinois and the Southern District of Florida. It covers technologies such as wireless e-mail, proximity sensing, software application management, location-based services and multi-device synchronization.



"Motorola has innovated and patented throughout every cycle of the telecommunications industry evolution, from Motorola's invention of the cell phone to its development of premier smartphone products," said Kirk Dailey, corporate vice president of intellectual property with Motorola Mobility. "We have extensively licensed our industry-leading intellectual property portfolio, consisting of tens of thousands of patents in the U.S. and worldwide."



"Apple's late entry into the telecommunications market, we engaged in lengthy negotiations, but Apple has refused to take a license. We had no choice but to file these complaints to halt Apple's continued infringement. Motorola will continue to take all necessary steps to protect its R&D and intellectual property, which are critical to the company's business."



As is standard in an ITC suit, Motorola asked the commission to ban the importation of products involved in the suit, including the iPhone ad iPad. Motorola has also asked the ITC to halt the marketing, promotion and sale of products it believes are infringing. Motorola also seeks compensation from Apple.



Motorola's lawsuit is just the latest in a long list of complaints involving Apple before the ITC. Apple has also sued Nokia, and is also being sued by the Finnish handset maker. The ITC has agreed to look into both companies' complaints of patent infringement.



Apple has also sued handset maker HTC. And it's being sued by Elan Microelectronics over multi-touch.



The ITC has also begun investigating claims made by Kodak against Apple. The camera company has alleged that Apple is in violation of patents that relate to the previewing of images, and processing them at different resolutions.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    rbonnerrbonner Posts: 635member
    I have been watching all of these lawsuit graphics floating around, guess this will require an update.



  • Reply 2 of 45
    rtm135rtm135 Posts: 310member
    when you can't innovate, litigate!
  • Reply 3 of 45
    mgl323mgl323 Posts: 247member
    With every company suing every other company that they see..I'm going to change my major.

    Law School here I come!
  • Reply 4 of 45
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    If anyone is getting rich from this, it's BAYER. We're all just getting headaches from reading about patent litigation.



    But then again, has anyone sued Bayer for "implementing a pain reduction in the cerebral cortex"???? Patent trolls, please wake up!!!!
  • Reply 5 of 45
    Let's count the days it takes for Apple to counter-sue for the Droid copies of the iPhone.
  • Reply 6 of 45
    pennywsepennywse Posts: 155member
    Give me a freakin' break. This whole mess is retarded ... much like my post here. I have said as little as possible, so as to not be sued for typing my comments in a way that may be plagiarizing other work. I are scared!
  • Reply 7 of 45
    It's worth noting that there is no such thing as "wireless email" (in the same way as there is no such thing as a "roadless car").
  • Reply 8 of 45
    eauviveeauvive Posts: 237member
    Note that aspirin is not patented here in France. That's a direct consequence of 1918 victory (it is written in the armistice act).



    I think it is high time Apple moves to Europe: there is no software patent over here, we are civilized.
  • Reply 9 of 45
    0yvind0yvind Posts: 55member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EauVive View Post


    ... we are civilized.



    That case is... hmmm... still pending...
  • Reply 10 of 45
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Love the diagram, before I saw it and based on the headline I was about to say this was becoming a circus ... the diagram proves it and it even looks like a big top from a birds eye view! Lawyers must be laughing all the way to their respective banks.
  • Reply 11 of 45
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EauVive View Post


    Note that aspirin is not patented here in France. That's a direct consequence of 1918 victory (it is written in the armistice act).



    I think it is high time Apple moves to Europe: there is no software patent over here, we are civilized.



    Nokia?
  • Reply 12 of 45
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    As a lawyer I can tell you don't bother. Unless you get into a school like Harvard or the University of Michigan you likely will not be making those big bucks. Do an internet search, big law firms are letting people go because the companies are cutting back on legal expenses.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mgl323 View Post


    With every company suing every other company that they see..I'm going to change my major.

    Law School here I come!



  • Reply 13 of 45
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    It's worth noting that there is no such thing as "wireless email" (in the same way as there is no such thing as a "roadless car").



    How does one patent wireless e-mail? Someone else owns the patent to wireless, e-mail can't be patented, yet somehow I can patent a combo of the 2?



    By the way, doesn't prior art count for something in a patent? If so I think someone beat Motorola to it.



    http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/17/g...mail-profiled/
  • Reply 14 of 45
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rbonner View Post


    I have been watching all of these lawsuit graphics floating around, guess this will require an update.







    This here's what you call a big circle jerk.
  • Reply 15 of 45
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hezetation View Post


    How does one patent wireless e-mail? Someone else owns the patent to wireless, e-mail can't be patented, yet somehow I can patent a combo of the 2?



    By the way, doesn't prior art count for something in a patent? If so I think someone beat Motorola to it.



    http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/17/g...mail-profiled/



    Someone is already suing Apple for Wireless email, 3G, GPRS, 802.11 wireless.. etc . It is getting really ridiculous.



    It is interesting that Nokia is suing almost everyone else (HW makers).
  • Reply 16 of 45
    wurm5150wurm5150 Posts: 763member
    Apple is already preparing to countersue as we speak.
  • Reply 17 of 45
    mgl323mgl323 Posts: 247member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TBell View Post


    As a lawyer I can tell you don't bother. Unless you get into a school like Harvard or the University of Michigan you likely will not be making those big bucks. Do an internet search, big law firms are letting people go because the companies are cutting back on legal expenses.





    I was being sarcastic but it's good to know what you said. Majoring in law was one of first decisions that I wanted to do, but it wasn't for me.
  • Reply 18 of 45
    This shows all the signs of becoming a technological Gordian's Knot (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordian_Knot ).



    Maybe we need a modern Alexander the Great to settle this....
  • Reply 19 of 45
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EauVive View Post


    I think it is high time Apple moves to Europe: there is no software patent over here, we are civilized.



    We have software patents in England & Wales.
  • Reply 20 of 45
    I have a chop-busting question - why didn't they sue three years ago when iPhone first came out?
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