2nd UPDATE: Apple Sues Motorola Over Licensing Wireless Patents
February 10 2012 - 8:14PM
Dow Jones News
Apple Inc. (AAPL) sued Motorola Mobility Inc. (MMI), saying
Apple's iPhone 4S is protected under a license agreement from
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM).
The lawsuit, which was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court,
Southern District of California, is the latest maneuver in a series
of legal battles between smartphone makers that include litigation
between Apple and Motorola in Germany.
With its latest case, the consumer electronics giant is
attempting to ward off future injunctions from Motorola. In its
suit, Apple said it should be protected from such court orders
because of its rights as a customer of Qualcomm, whose chips are
licensed by Motorola.
Apple's suit came after a German court dismissed a different
Motorola suit against Apple earlier Friday. The dispute garnered
particular attention when Motorola enforced an injunction from a
local court there that made Apple temporarily suspend sales of some
iPads and older iPhones because they allegedly infringed a Motorola
patent.
The injunction was lifted, but around the same time, Motorola
told the German court that Apple's newest smartphone, iPhone 4S,
should have been blocked from sale as well, according to documents
in the California case. Apple said in the documents that it argued
its iPhone 4S is made using Qualcomm communications chips, and
should benefit from Qualcomm's license with Motorola.
Motorola, on the other hand, had asked Qualcomm to revoke its
license to Apple, the court document said. Qualcomm refused.
"An actual and justiciable controversy exists between Apple and
Motorola with respect to whether Apple is authorized to use
Qualcomm components," Apple wrote, adding that Motorola could cause
"irreparable harm" if it is not kept from filing additional
lawsuits alleging Apple infringes its patents.
Apple, Motorola and Qualcomm all declined to comment.
These and other patent battles between smartphone companies have
heightened concerns in high-tech circles about how companies treat
what are sometimes called "essential" patents, which cover
technologies that are necessary to create certain kinds of
products.
Many standards-setting organizations ask member companies to
license essential patents under what are called fair, reasonable
and non-discriminatory terms, a commitment also known as FRAND.
Apple has repeatedly claimed that its competitors have violated
FRAND commitments as litigation over smartphone technology has
continued to rise. In November, Apple sent a letter to a European
standards body asking for an overhaul of FRAND agreements and a
framework for how those patents are licensed. Among its
recommendations, Apple said there should be an agreed-to base
royalty as well as promises that companies won't seek or enforce
injunctions against any competitor alleged to have infringed a
FRAND patent.
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) has expressed support of Apple's
recommendations, and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has made similar
comments.
Google Inc. (GOOG), which struck a deal last year to acquire
Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, sent a letter to dozens of
European standards bodies saying it will maintain many of
Motorola's practices and prices for FRAND patents. But Google
stopped short of promising it wouldn't use injunctions as part of
its strategy. Though the U.S. Justice Department is expected to
approve Google's takeover of Motorola, regulators in both Europe
and the U.S. have expressed concern about Google's strategy.
In its California suit against Motorola, Apple asked the court
to stop Motorola from prosecuting its claims, adding that Motorola
"has pursued an aggressive international campaign of litigation
that flies in the face of its promise to license its cellular
standards essential patents."
Apple also asked the court to stop Motorola from seeking
injunctions on the Qualcomm patent in Germany or elsewhere.
-By Ian Sherr, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6455;
ian.sherr@dowjones.com
--Shara Tibken, Greg Bensinger, Harriet Torry and Friedrich
Geiger contributed to this article.
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