Microsoft Claims Motorola’s Android Devices Infringe On 7 Of Their Patents
Here we go again. Today, in a trial before the International Trade Commission in Washington, the world’s largest software maker, Microsoft, accused Motorola Mobility of infringing on 7 of their patents (thanks in part to Android) and is requesting a halt on imports of several Motorola handsets — namely the Droid 2, Droid X, Cliq XT, Devour, Backflip and Charm. Microsoft’s corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for litigation David Howard had this to say,
“We have a responsibility to our employees, customers, partners and shareholders to safeguard our intellectual property. Motorola is infringing our patents and we are confident that the ITC will rule in our favor.”
Motorola Mobility’s spokeswoman Jennifer Erickson responded with,
“We have also brought legal actions of our own in the U.S. and in Europe to address Microsoft’s large scale of infringement of Motorola Mobility’s patents.”
The trial mostly focused on details regarding key smartphone functions like synchronizing emails, calendars and contacts; schedule meetings; and notify applications of changes in signal strength and battery power. Call me crazy but wouldn’t that mean every smartphone on the planet would also be infringing on these patents? Let’s hope of Motorola’s 17,000 patents, some of those can be used to defend themselves. The findings in the case are scheduled to be released on Nov. 4th and the FTC hopes to complete their investigation by March 5th.
[Via Bloomberg]