There's nothing quite like a legal fist-fight in the tech industry, for both sides are fighting tooth and nail to preserve their position in an extremely lucrative market. Apple has been in quite a few legal fights recently, and now one has been stopped before starting, after an American judge dismissed a patent licensing lawsuit against Motorola.
Apple was going to battle against Motorola Mobility (the mobile division of the company; now Google's property) over patent licensing. Judge Barbara Crabb threw the case out on the grounds that Apple may not have followed the court's judgment after all was said and done, opening up a possible second case.
Motorola had originally offered patent licensing for 2.25% of the profit from every Apple device using it that was sold. With Apple's sales figures, that's a significant chunk of cash going to a company under Google, whose Android OS turned five yesterday.
The Cupertino electronics giant then stated they would not pay more than $1 per device sold to Motorola for profits, and so the case was binned.
Motorola Mobility's spokesperson said that they were "happy" with Judge Crabb's decision and handling of the case, but that they would continue to negotiate with Apple until a satisfactory conclusion was reached for both companies.
While one punch-up between Motorola Mobility and Apple might have been prevented, the lawyers are getting ready to lay another legal smackdown over a possible patent violation in Siri.
Source: The Inquirer
7 Comments - Add comment