Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft
Summary: On November 9, Microsoft filed its second patent suit in less than two months against Motorola. On November 10, Motorola fired back with its own patent suit against Microsoft.
On November 9, Microsoft filed its second patent suit in less than two months against Motorola. On November 10, Motorola fired back with its own patent suit against Microsoft.
Motorola subsidiary Motorola Mobility filed complaints against Microsoft in U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Florida and the Western District of Wisconsin, claiming infringement of 16 of its patents by Microsoft's PC and server software, Windows Mobile and Xbox products.
From Motorola's November 10 press release:
"The Motorola patents directed to PC and Server software relate to Windows OS, digital video coding, email technology including Exchange, Messenger and Outlook, Windows Live instant messaging and object oriented software architecture. The Motorola patents directed to Windows mobile software relate to Windows Marketplace, Bing maps and object oriented software architecture. The Motorola patents directed to Xbox relate to digital video coding, WiFi technology, and graphical passwords. Motorola Mobility has requested that Microsoft cease using Motorola's patented technology and provide compensation for Microsoft's past infringement."
Microsoft sued Motorola on October 1 over alleged infringement of Motorola's Android smartphones on Microsoft's patents. On November 9, Microsoft sued Motorola again over wireless and video coding patents that are used by the Xbox and smartphones. In the latter case, Microsoft claimed that Motorola is charging excessive royalties for its patents.
I asked Microsoft officials if they have any statement on the new Motorola patent suit. Here's the reply:
“We are still reviewing Motorola’s filing, which we just received," said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing. "This move is typical of the litigation process and we are not surprised. We remain confident in our position and will continue to move forward with the complaints we initiated against Motorola in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and with the International Trade Commission (ITC).”
Update: Patent expert Florian Mueller has a list of the patents over which Motorola is suing Microsoft.
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Talkback
Winners
The lawyers.
RE: Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft
Microsoft is like the mafia
Microsoft claims it owns patents over syncing email, and contextual menus. It is completely frivolous stuff.
Microsoft has only 2 aims: To make the OEMs pay protection money, or to force them to make Windows Phones (at the moment Motorola has no interest in getting on board Microsoft's failed mobile bandwagon).
RE: Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft
You got that right. It's interesting that Motorola is the only major phone manufacturer to "JUST SAY NO TO WIN PHONE 7" and the only one to get sued.....
RE: Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft
The industry was doing just fine before software patents were fully enabled in 1998. While it doesn't appear that software patents will disappear in the USA anytime soon, one thing that all parties agree on (including Microsoft) is that business method patents need to go and that pure patent trolls are abusing the system making everything artificially more expensive.
RE: Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft
Hopefully us in the long run!
I hope a judge decides that the disputed technologies are so common and have so much contribution from multiple sources that it is not possible for one company to have an exclusive right to them. More competition and lower prices, I say.
And where did Microsoft "learn" to use the law as an attack dog?
IMO, Bill Gates learned to fight dirty at his father's feet, as a child. And he's been fighting dirty ever since.
They're a dirty monopoly
RE: Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft
Good to see Motorola put up a fight against Microsoft
Microsoft sued TomTom (for using Linux). It sued HTC, Motorola, Asus and Acer for using Android. It was even financing SCO's suit against Linux vendors.
It's good to see Motorola now put up a fight against these frivolous Microsoft lawsuits, rather than rolling over and paying Microsoft its demanded fee.
RE: Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft
Microsoft, HTC, Motorola, etc. all have the right to protect their patents and if that means dragging things to court, so be it.
Well then they'll just have to build a bigger legal department
RE: Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft
They didn't sue because they were using Linux actually, they sued for using a version of FAT. As for funding SCO's suit against Linux vendors, you should do some research. Microsoft sold what is now SCO the code for Xenix, which was a UNIX like OS Microsoft developed before Windows. Yes, that is correct, Microsoft was a UNIX developer before they went to Windows, and yes, they contributed code that ended up in Linux. Most of that code has been removed, or just isn't used by most modern distros, but that code does still exist in some.
MS sued TomTom for use of the FAT file system
On Android side, unfortunately for all Android distributors, Google itself validated 100% of MS claims when it purchased a license to cover the NexusOne. That single fact makes it virtually impossible for any OEM (that distributes the Android OS) to defend themselves ....
RE: Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft
Can you provide a source saying Google purchased a license (and for what)? I was not able to validate your claim.
RE: Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft
You been smoking wacky tobaccy again wackoae! Here's the license Google paid for from Microsoft. It has nothing to do with Linux, except for MS's "Active Sync" for Android!
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/feb09/02-09statement.mspx
RE: Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft
Sad to see such massive desperation gushing out of motorola from every pore
RE: Motorola retaliates with new patent suits against Microsoft