Google, Motorola Forced to Hand Android Development Data Over to Apple
In a very interesting twist in the patent war between Apple and Motorola/Google, a court judge presiding over the case has ordered the latter party to hand over information regarding Android’s development to the former. They’ll also be required to hand over information regarding the acquisition proposal between the two parties.
While the acquisition has not been closed yet, it’s expected to be approved and finalized by the end of this quarter. These rulings were made by Chicago Circuit Judge Richard Posner. The decision was made in a patent lawsuit filed by Apple in 2010, in which Motorola countersued. Apple claims that the new acquisition proposal is highly relevant to their case.
It’s unclear how it is relevant, and it’s also unclear why Apple would need so much information from Google and Motorola regarding Android to continue with their lawsuit.
Apple has had little success getting any real victories in any region but this decision certainly is a big one for them. It remains to be seen if anything fruitful (no pun intended) will come of it but we’re skeptical that whatever Apple is trying to cook up has any legs. [Bloomberg]