Motorola litigation against Apple will continue, despite Google deal

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility will not affect Motorola's patent-related lawsuits against Apple, as the search company revealed on Monday it has no plans to rescind those legal complaints.



Motorola will continue to operate as a separate entity under Google, building handsets running Android as it has done before. And the company will also continue to pursue any litigation it is involved in, Google Chief Legal Officer David C. Drummond said in a conference call.



"Those lawsuits will continue and will be managed by Motorola as they are now..." Drummond said. "I don't believe there's anything more to add."



Drummond and other Google executives also declined to talk about the company's potential legal strategies going forward, now that it is set to own Motorola's massive patent portfolio. Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha said his company has 17,000 issued patents, and 7,500 patent applications that Google will now control.



"We will be in a very good position to protect the Android ecosystem for all of our partners," Drummond said.



Google's purchase of Motorola for $12.5 billion comes as lawsuits continue to mount in the wireless industry. Google's chief executive, Larry Page, said on Monday that patent litigation by Apple and Microsoft, which he feels is "anticompetitive," led to the Motorola deal.



Motorola fired the first salvo against Apple last October, when it sued the iPhone maker in the U.S. International Trade Commission. Motorola has argued that the iPhone, iPod touch and certain Macs are in violation of patented inventions it owns.







In all, Apple has been accused of violating 18 patents related to a range of technologies, including 3G, GPRS, 802.11 wireless and antenna design. The two companies reportedly attempted to negotiate an agreement out of court, but Motorola claims that Apple "refused" to pay for a license.



Apple quickly shot back with its own lawsuit, accusing devices like Motorola's Droid smartphones of violating six patents related to multi-touch gestures found on the iPhone.



Lawsuits in the wireless industry are so prevalent that Motorola even made a preemptive strike against Apple, and asked a U.S. District Court to invalidate 11 patents owned by the iPhone maker. Motorola told the court that Apple has a "history of asserting" that handsets running Google Android violate the 11 named patents.



Those same 11 patents were included in an earlier lawsuit that Apple filed against HTC. The patents in question were not, however, included in the complaint Apple would eventually file against Motorola only a matter of weeks later.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 43
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    shocker!
  • Reply 2 of 43
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Was anyone expecting it not to continue?



    Is anyone expecting it NOT to expand because of the deal?!
  • Reply 3 of 43
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Was anyone expecting it not to continue?



    Is anyone expecting it NOT to expand because of the deal?!



    There were people questioning if the lawsuit would continue in the other thread.



    ... and, I think it will expand.
  • Reply 4 of 43
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Was anyone expecting it not to continue?



    Is anyone expecting it NOT to expand because of the deal?!



    Yes. I fully expect to see an announcement sometime in the next few months that all patent litigation between the two is settled or withdrawn in a mutual agreement. Apple and Google know way too much about each others business I suspect.
  • Reply 5 of 43
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    Yes. I fully expect to see an announcement sometime in the next few months that all patent litigation between the two is settled or withdrawn in a mutual agreement. Apple and Google know way too much about each others business I suspect.



    ? This is a joke, right? I mean, this is the Cold War going hot, for heaven's sake. The proxy wars are over now. It's Apple vs. Google.
  • Reply 6 of 43
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    "We will be in a very good position to protect the Android ecosystem for all of our partners," Drummond said.



    Do these idiots really not have access to anyone who understands business?



    How many partners do they expect to have when they're competing with their partners?



    Microsoft just popped a truckload of champagne. Google just handed them a ton of market share.
  • Reply 7 of 43
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    Do these idiots really not have access to anyone who understands business?



    How many partners do they expect to have when they're competing with their partners?



    Microsoft just popped a truckload of champagne. Google just handed them a ton of market share.



    Yup. I'm sure that all the Android licensees are now chomping at the bit to play second fiddle to Nokia's relationship with Microsoft.
  • Reply 8 of 43
    So is Motorola going to continue with plans to sue other Android based phone makers infringing on their patents? Not bloody likely!
  • Reply 9 of 43
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by klasseng View Post


    So is Motorola going to continue with plans to sue other Android based phone makers infringing on their patents? Not bloody likely!



    "Not bloody likely!"







    That's your Cockney accent? That's the worst Cockney accent I've ever heard.
  • Reply 10 of 43
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    Yup. I'm sure that all the Android licensees are now chomping at the bit to play second fiddle to Nokia's relationship with Microsoft.



    They've got a lot better chance of a fair deal from Microsoft than from Google.
  • Reply 11 of 43
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Was anyone expecting it not to continue?



    Is anyone expecting it NOT to expand because of the deal?!



    Of course not! No one expected Google to continue to sue Apple. Why would they?
  • Reply 12 of 43
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility will not affect Motorola's patent-related lawsuits against Apple, as the search company revealed on Monday it has no plans to rescind those legal complaints.



    [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ][/c]





    I wonder if this clears the way for Microsoft to buy Nokia?



    Since they already gave them a Billion why not buy them out? The DoJ cannot stop them unless they stop Motorola Google marriage.
  • Reply 13 of 43
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Was anyone expecting it not to continue?



    Is anyone expecting it NOT to expand because of the deal?!



    I guess some were expecting an easing of the suits, but they're wrong. Frankly, I expect the suits were part of the reason Google bought Moto in the first place!
  • Reply 14 of 43
    I'm sure Google will set all the patents they've acquired free under some open license where anyone can use them free of charge.



    Google is all about Open.
  • Reply 15 of 43
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kirkgray View Post


    I'm sure Google will set all the patents they've acquired free under some open license where anyone can use them free of charge.



    Google is all about Open.



    Such finely-wrought sarcasm belongs in a frame.
  • Reply 16 of 43
    adonissmuadonissmu Posts: 1,776member
    Should Google be allowed to buy Motorolla?
  • Reply 17 of 43
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member
    Every minute Google, Motorola, and Samsung et al spend in court defending themselves against Apple costs them in the long term. Because every minute, Apple sells more iPhone, iPads, Apple TVs, and iPod touches. And Apple users are happier with their devices than Android users are.



    Just Google "New Survey: Consumer Smart Phones ? Apple vs. Google Android" for more.
  • Reply 18 of 43
    Hilarious.



    Google claims this acquisition will protect Android from litigation. THIS IS NOT GOING TO WORK.





    Apple, Microsoft, etc. are suing Android MANUFACTURERS (Samsung, HTC, etc.), because the manufacturers are the DIRECT INFRINGERS of the patent. NOT GOOGLE.







    And Google CANT give this patents away for free to Samsung,HTC, etc. The only way this will happen without attracting an ANTI-TRUST investigation, is if Google allows Samsung, HTC to license Motorola's patents for a FEE.



    WHICH WILL INCREASE THE COST OF USING ANDROID for manufacturers!





    THIS IS A $12 BILLION WASTE of money.
  • Reply 19 of 43
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FriedLobster View Post


    Hilarious.



    Google claims this acquisition will protect Android from litigation. THIS IS NOT GOING TO WORK. . . Google CANT give this patents away for free to Samsung,HTC, etc.



    Of course they can. \ Simple to make them available under the Open Handset Alliance Agreement if they wish. That doesn't mean they will.
  • Reply 20 of 43
    I guess HTC is going to be their sacrificial lamb. After Apple succeeds in their suit against them, Google will work feverishly to change the Android OS to avoid those same patent infringements. They won't tell Samsung since they're already in bed with Apple (even though they're suing each other). LG, Sony and the rest will basically dump Android and go W7 after Microsoft gives them an easy way to reuse their handsets that they have waiting to come out with Android.



    Google will realize that Motorola's engineers are not easy to work with and will experience the same resistance that Steve Jobs did when he became the interim CEO @ Apple. I don't think they have the experience to run a hardware company, especially one that specializes in cellphones and PDA's, not computers.
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