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IC blocks Motorola phones as well, over MS patents

Bateluer

Bateluer

Lifer
http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/18/itc-bans-motorola-mobile-devices-for-infringing-microsoft-patent/

At the end of last year, an Administrative Law Judge issued an initial ruling that Motorola's mobile devices infringe a bit of Microsoft's IP. Now, the Commission has affirmed that decision and issued an exclusion order to ban Moto's offending devices from importation into the US. In case you weren't aware, the four patent claims at issue generally cover technology for scheduling meetings over email using a mobile device. So, unless Motorola removes the feature, pays for a license or whips up a workaround Microsoft's patent in short order, its inbound RAZRs, Droid 4s, Bionics and other offending handsets will be stuck in customs alongside HTC's One X and EVO 4G LTE
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Victory through litigation. Far easier than innovating and making a good product, eh?
 
In a complaint filed in October 2010 with the ITC, Microsoft accused Motorola Mobility of infringing nine patents for Windows Mobile and Windows Phone.
Two of those patents were dropped during litigation. An ITC administrative law judge in December found that Motorola Mobility infringed on one Microsoft patent in making Android cellphones but did not infringe on six others.
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A patent on scheduling meetings from your phone is the only valid patent Microsoft could come up with that Motorola infringes in Android? Big deal.
This is a win for Motorola more than it's a win for Microsoft.

Instead of wasting money by paying $15/handset to Microsoft for that one patent on scheduling meetings from your phone, just remove that feature.
If that's the only valid patent Microsoft has against Android, then it seems their patent licensing threats contains more bark than bite.
 
lothar said:
their patent licensing threats contains more bark than bite.
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Most are. But MS&Apple have very deep pockets, far deeper than MMI's, HTC's, etc. Sadly, its sometimes cheaper to pay the licensing fees than going to court. And there's not guarantee that they'd get a judge that understands technology and dismisses the suit.
 
Just remove Gmail or Google Calendar from the device when it ships, let user install it from Google play.
 
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I doubt MS will be suing HTC or Samsung for that matter, considering they're a strategic partner for making their WP7 phones.. where as Motorola... don't.
 
zerogear said:
I doubt MS will be suing HTC or Samsung for that matter, considering they're a strategic partner for making their WP7 phones.. where as Motorola... don't.
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Umm...HTC and Samsung are already paying Microsoft to licensing fees for the (mostly frivolous) patents.
HTC pays $5 per Android device, Samsung $15 per Android device(I believe).

Another point of interest:
Barnes & Nobles was sued by Microsoft. They requested which patents they violated from Microsoft. There was no response from Microsoft. They decided to license patents from Microsoft(paying whatever fee they were paying to them per device) and again asked which Microsoft patents were violated. Microsoft responded with the patents. Barnes & Noble reviewed them and saw that they were mostly bogus/frivolous. Barnes & Noble decided to stop paying licensing fees for the mostly bogus/frivolous patents and of course you've heard of the news that "deal" that happened between Microsoft and Barnes & Nobles this past few weeks.
http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=2011111122291296
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20111111121548972
http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=MSvBN


So far of the 9 patents being asserted by Microsoft against Motorola, only this one has been proven to be legitimate.
The remaining were either proven to be bogus or voluntarily withdrawn by Microsoft themselves.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-say...RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3
The ITC order did not say which models of Motorola Mobility smartphone were affected but Microsoft has asked for the following devices to be stopped at the U.S. border: the Atrix, Backflip, Bravo, Charm, Cliq, Cliq 2, Cliq XT, Defy, Devour, Droid 2, Droid 2 Global, Droid Pro, Droid X, Droid X2, Flipout, Flipside, Spice and the Xoom tablet.
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Old phones.
I assume Motorola has removed(or will remove) this infringing patent on their more recent devices like the Razr and Razr Maxx.
 
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