By Sandy Fitzgerald | Thu Jan 26, 2012 12:20 pm |
Motorola filed suit against Apple, accusing it of patent infringement, the opening shot in the long-anticipated showdown with Google over the Android OS.
The case, which Motorola filed in a Florida federal court, claims Apple's iPhone 4S and the iCloud remote storage service infringes on its patents involving technology for wireless antennae, software, data filtering and messaging.Motorola is bringing a stream of victories to bolster its case. The U.S. International Trade Commission earlier this month issued a preliminary decision denying a set of Apple patent claims. In addition, last month, Motorola won a preliminary injunction in Germany which could eventually ban the sale of iPhones and iPads there. Wednesday's claims against Apple, though, are the first time Google will be directly involved in a lawsuit against Apple, even though court battles between Apple and the Android OS have been going on for some time in courts around the world. Google said in August it plans to buy Motorola for $12.5 billion, which will allow it to gain control of the company's estimated 14,000 patents. The sale is still going through federal scrutiny and hasn't been officially approved, but Google already has some control of Motorola's decisions. The merger agreement requires Motorola to seek Google's permission before filing "any Intellectual Property Right in any new action," meaning Google must sign off on the lawsuit, which brings Apple and Google even closer to direct legal action. Meanwhile, the ITC denied Apple's arguments that Motorola had infringed on the antenna, software, data filtering and messaging patents this month, dealing Apple another blow in its legal battles against Android. The Motorola cases -- with their direct link to Google -- are likely pivotal in the ongoing legal battles between Apple's iOS and Google's Android. If Google wins the case through Motorola Mobility, that could fortify Android's legal standing, including protecting companies that use the OS, like Samsung and HTC, which are also battling Apple in court proceedings. Google may also be using patents it already owns to help bolster the Motorola case, a tactic it previously employed to help other Android phone makers in their own legal actions. Last fall, HTC filed claims against Apple using patents transferred over from Google just days earlier. If the federal government approves Google's buyout plans with Motorola, that will give the company even more patent ammunition to use against Apple, which will likely strengthen Android's sales. Each ban Apple seeks threatens Google's OS, so a stronger patent portfolio will help defend the OS against these attacks. Apple is not without its own patent resources, however, including a massive packet of patents it gained last year though its buyout of Nortel Networks' intellectual property, which likely will come into play as the courtroom battles -- which show no sign of easing -- rage on. Motorola's lawsuits, though, may pose the toughest challenge for Apple to date as it heads yet another year in its battle against the powerful hold Android phones and tablets have on the market.
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