Motorola retaliates with new patent suits 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.