Motorola -- and by Motorola we mean Google and the Android operating system -- now faces a serious threat in the looming trial against Apple set to begin this summer. And just in case that was not enough to keep the competition up at night, Apple hooked up with a former arch rival to double-team Motorola in Europe.
Temperatures are rising in the global patent wars, so let's get a "dun dun" going and check out the details in this week's Law & Apple.
Apple vs. Motorola (U.S.)
Apple and Motorola are preparing for their heavyweight courtroom bout (11-cv-08540, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Chicago), scheduled for June 11. Part of that pre-trial process is claim construction, a process where the judge digs into the patents in question and attempts to define how the patent will impact the case. The judge in this case, Judge Richard A. Posner, handed down a claim construction ruling last Thursday that might end up being the Achilles heal of Google's Android operating system.
The patent in question, Apple's US Patent No. 7,479,949 (pdf), deals with touchscreen heuristics, or how a device interprets touchscreen commands by recognizing different kinds of swipes. Motorola wanted Judge Posner to decide that the '949 patent applied to a very specific kind of swipe, and Apple argued for a much broader claim. Judge Posner sided strongly with Apple, and Motorola and Google have got to be sweating the decision.
"Uh-oh."
A broader interpretation of the claim could make it easier for Apple to prove their argument, that they have "identified the problems associated with imprecise finger gestures, solved them, and successfully incorporated them into a commercial product," and that "Apple should be entitled to the fruits of its innovation via broad patent protection." Apple has been jabbing at Android's perimeter patent defense so far, going after things like data tapping and photo gallery page turning. The '949 patent, though, might be the nuclear bomb the late Steve Jobs alluded to when describing going after Google. Oh, and by the way, Steven P. Jobs is listed is the first inventor on the patent. Just sayin'.
To put it simply, the patent deals with all of the ways we use our finger to interact with the touchscreen, and if Motorola and the Android operating system are no longer able to use those methods, it is difficult to see how they would remain relevant in this market.
Apple vs. Motorola (Europe)
Well, they say war makes strange bedfellows, and the explosion of Google's Android on the smartphone market has brought two old rivals together to try and put the brakes on the runaway operating system. Back in February, Motorola briefly won an injunction against Apple, but we laid out how the situation turned quickly in Apple's favor. The injunction was lifted because of previously established commitments that mandated Motorola had to play ball so long as Apple made a fair offer.
Yesterday, the European Commission announced that two formal investigations have been launched against Motorola because of complaints that Motorola refused to play ball. The complaints were filed by Apple and Microsoft, former arch enemies, and were enough to get the Commission initiate serious proceedings.
Like a classic 80s cop movie, Redmond & Cupertino team up to fight crime.
The Commission is set to determine if Motorola has been "abusing its standard-essential patents" by failing to "honor the commitments it has made to standard setting organizations." Motorola is definitely feeling the heat.
Adrian writes the weekly Law & Apple column for MacLife.com. Follow him on Twitter, or subscribe to him on Facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment