motorola

Microsoft Wins German Patent Injunction Against Google Subsidiary Motorola

May 24, 2012 | By Pradeep

Today, Microsoft won a German patent injunction against Google subsidiary Motorola. The court ruled that Android OS infringe patent no. EP1304891 on “communicating multi-part messages between cellular devices using a standardized interface”. Motorola is the only major Android OEM that has not licensed the essential patents from Microsoft yet. As a result of it, Microsoft sued them in USA, Germany and other places and even won an import ban against Android based Motorola devices in USA. I’m sure Motorola with its new owner Google will come down to license patents from Microsoft soon by paying royalties. Read more about the case in details at the source link below.

Source: FOSS Patents

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Motorola Android handsets banned from the US due to infringing Microsoft patent

May 18, 2012 | By Surur

It seems Motorola’s gamble did not pay off. While most Android OEMs decided to pay Microsoft’s Android patent license fee, Motorola decided to take their chances in court.

Now the ITC has confirmed Motorola infringes on Microsoft’s four patents for scheduling meetings over email using a mobile device.

The decision affect all Motorola’s Android handsets, and the ITC has issued an exclusion order to ban Motorola’s offending devices from importation into the US.

Microsoft has issued a statement saying:

Microsoft sued Motorola in the ITC only after Motorola chose to refuse Microsoft’s efforts to renew a patent license for well over a year. We’re pleased the full Commission agreed that Motorola has infringed Microsoft’s intellectual property, and we hope that now Motorola will be willing to join the vast majority of Android device makers selling phones in the US by taking a license to our patents.

– David Howard, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel Microsoft

The decision may still be overturned by a Presidential Review, but we suspect Motorola (and therefore very soon Google) will soon become a Microsoft Licensee.

Via Engadget.com

Thanks Milad for the tip.

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Microsoft wins case to prevent Motorola injunction

April 12, 2012 | By Surur

Motorola is demanding massive royalties from Microsoft for using 50 of its patents used in the H.264 video standard. Motorola is demanding up to $22.50 on every midrange laptop using the video standard while Microsoft is paying only 2c to a group of 29 companies for a pool of 2,300 patents, and have taken Microsoft to court for this.

Microsoft is therefore it seems pretty fairly accusing Motorola of abuse of the Fair and Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory licensing of essential patents, and has today won a ruling by a Seattle judge preventing Motorola from requesting an injunction against Microsoft products being shipped until the court has decided whether Motorola is indeed abusing the FRAND patent system.

“Motorola promised to make its patents available to Microsoft and other companies on fair and reasonable terms,” Microsoft deputy general counsel David Howard said in a statement. “Today’s ruling means Motorola can’t prevent Microsoft from selling products until the court decides whether Motorola has lived up to its promise.”

Microsoft is expecting a similar ruling in Germany soon.

While Microsoft has always been a proponent of intellectual property protection, they have also always been eager to find a reasonable licensed settlement rather than litigate or use patents to restrict competition. It seems soon the court may impose the same rules on Motorola, which would certainly reduce the extortion value of Motorola to Google, who paid $12 billion for the failing company.

Via AllthingsD.com

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Microsoft has a “passive economic interest” in Mosaid/Nokia deal

September 2, 2011 | By Surur

Showing once again that there is quite a bit going on behind the scenes, and that Nokia and Microsoft is even closer than one thinks, it seems Microsoft will be a beneficiary of Mosaid’s licensing and litigation with ex-Nokia patents.

Horacio Gutierrez, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel told Mary Jo Foley:

“Over the years, Nokia has developed one of the world’s highest-quality patent portfolios in the mobile phone industry, representing decades of innovation as a worldwide leader in the field. We are pleased to have secured a license to the Nokia patents now acquired by MOSAID for Microsoft’s products and services. In return, we have a passive economic interest in the revenue generated from the licensing of those patents to third parties. The marketplace for intellectual property is incredibly dynamic today, and this agreement is an effective way to make these Nokia innovations available to the industry and to unlock the considerable value of this IP portfolio.”

Apparently Mosaid will be splitting the licensing revenues from the deal with Nokia and Microsoft, keeping a 1/3 to itself.

Microsoft itself will continue to have access to a number of Nokia’s patents, including those covering phone cameras, lenses, hinges and various industrial-design components, Microsoft officials said.

The news of the patent offensive comes on the heel of news that Google basically bought a pig in a poke with its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola.

"It’s an immense mistake," Martin says in an interview on Bloomberg, referring to Google’s blockbuster $12.5 billion patent acquisition of Motorola Mobility. "What they’ve bought is crap. Motorola [had already] sold off its good assets. Back in the early years, Motorola sold off some MPEG patents to GE … After that, they took a bunch of the Freescale patents and sold those off. [Motorola's current patent estate, which Google is trying to buy,] actually has a huge dependency on Freescale, and Freescale actually has an Apple link."

That video, which is a must-see, can be seen after the break.

Continue reading →

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Samsung hires HP exec, possibly interested in webOS?

August 30, 2011 | By l3v5y

The news is full of Hewlett-Packard’s recent canning of webOS, with the expectation that in the increasingly competitive and vicious mobile world its complete failure on tablets would see the end of it as a player. Microsoft are already wooing webOS developers on the expectation that the system is no longer going to be supported. However, TechCrunch speculates – via a rumour in Digitimes – that webOS may still be relevant; Samsung are rumoured to be considering buying it as well as hiring one of HP’s ex-vice presidents (apparently to work on marketing PCs, so there may be no link.)

All rumour and speculation, so take with a double pinch of salt; and of course, as with Google’s purchasing of Motorola, the purchase may be more important for the enormous patent war chest that comes with webOS than for actually using it (a mark of how litigious the smartphone world has recently become.) However, it’s an interesting development, and as TechCrunch rightly point out:

Apple has iOS. HTC has its massive supply chain. Nokia will have Windows Phone 7 Mango. And Motorola will, of course, have Android. That leaves Samsung, who is a notably strong competitor among these big five device makers, without something special to set it apart.

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Analysts confirm Windows Phone 7 as the 3rd ecosystem, but remain guarded

August 27, 2011 | By Surur

Sorry RIM and Symbian, but both of your ecosystems have already been counted out.

Despite lack of rip-roaring sales figures, the steady progress of the Windows Phone 7 ecosystem in gathering developers, OEMs and distribution has prompted analysts to name it as the 3rd mobile ecosystem, after the iPhone and Android.

“Windows Phone has a good chance to become the third ecosystem but the question is how far it will be from the two leaders,” said Michael Vakulenko, research partner with London mobile consultancy VisionMobile, quoted in Bloomberg.

“People will take Windows Phone 7 as the third one to go for but I don’t think it’s going to stop many people from building iPhone or Android apps,” said Hume of Future Platforms.

Vakulenko echoed similar thoughts, saying “Any developer who decides to invest in Windows Phone 7 needs to consider alternatives and that’s always Android and iPhone.”

“App publishers we’re working with seem to be much more enthusiastic about Windows Phone 7 than Symbian,” said Offscreen Technologies CEO Harri Myllynen. “Still, Apple and Android are number one and this will be a long-tail platform. I’m not aware of any developer investing in a big way yet.”

Stephen Elop has emphasised with the purchase of Motorola by Google, OEMs should be paying even more attention to Windows Phone 7.

"The very first reaction I had was very clearly the importance of the third ecosystem and the importance of the partnership that we announced on February 11, it is more clear than ever before," Elop said.

"By adopting Windows Phone as our primary smartphone platform we believe we can deliver a global ecosystem that goes beyond what exists today in terms of hardware, software, services and apps," Elop said.

"Nokia and Microsoft will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivalled global reach and scale. It’s now a three-horse race."

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Microsoft starts ITC trial against Motorola, asks to block all Droid imports

August 22, 2011 | By Surur

The case has been rumbling for a while but Microsoft is finally having its day in court with Google’s new fiancé, Motorola.

Microsoft’s case against Motorola at the ITC in Washington has started today. Microsoft is accused Motorola Mobility of infringing seven of its patents which Microsoft calls “essential to the smartphone user experience,” including ways to synchronize e- mail, calendars and contacts; schedule meetings; and notify applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.

“We have a responsibility to our employees, customers, partners and shareholders to safeguard our intellectual property,” David Howard, Microsoft’s corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for litigation, said in an e-mail. “Motorola is infringing our patents and we are confident that the ITC will rule in our favor.”

Motorola has promised to “vigorously defending” itself but according to FOSSPatents Motorola’s own countersuit has been postponed to the second half of 2012, while Microsoft’s case will conclude by March 2012, meaning the ITC could potentially block all imports of Motorola phones for months before Motorola even has chance to respond.

Administrative Law Judge Theodore Essex is scheduled to release his findings in the case Nov. 4, and the commission has a target to complete its investigation by March 5, according to information on the agency’s website.

Via Bloomberg.com

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The Patent War Saga: From the Eyes of a Teenager

August 19, 2011 | By adriel623

As a young adult and technology enthusiast growing up in a world where technology is changing and improving as fast as one can blink I am very much amazed and captivated by the goings-on. What has me particularly captivated at the moment however, is the mobile spectra and at them moment the kind of weapons race that goes on behind the scenes. The goings-on that even at this feisty stage are not even known by the so-called end users who just care about having a phone in their hands and have not the slightest care about how it got there. I should make it clear off the bat, that I am of the belief that if one sheds blood, sweat and tears working on something, that they should reap the benefits of it in the way that they’ve dreamed of. I am also of the knowledge that Microsoft was once the big bad wolf of monopolizing the tech world but I like others also believes that those time have somewhat changed and Microsoft is more about the people now (Win7 and WP7 are perfect examples). I also believe that the old Microsoft skin has fallen over or has been modified to fit Google, who’s "Me too" attitude I somewhat despise. Of course this is my opinion and everyone is free to have their opinion too.

All of the research I’ve done on the tech world, whether by reading from Engadget, BGR, Bloomberg, CNET, ZDNET, ArsTechnica, GigaOM has led me to believe that Google is really about providing their Android software for free so that the manufacture can gobble it up and Google can have more platforms to make money from advertising (Which is what they’re buit on). This I know must be true yet the hordes of Fandroids as they are oft called fail to acknowledge and blindly follow Google into the bottomless pits of deception. If I at this ripe age can understand this why can’t the multitude of older generations pick this up as well?

What annoys me is when fandroid like to cry out in unsion that Android is free! Android is open! Android can be customized You can do whatever you can with Android and will fight it to the death. I used to have a bit of disdain for Apple products but the more the Fandroid cry out about how free Android is the more I’ve favored Apple as second to Microsoft in my book. Wake up Fandroids half of those that own Android phones buy them for their prices and don’t know about the tons of "advanced" features that the carriers and manufacturers hype their phones up to offer. Those that claim that Android can be hacked this or that way don’t recognize that the majority of the population have no interest in those things.

Most of the regular people may just be attracted by a phone with a pretty big and vibrant screen and a nice camera, probably the ability to play the movies, songs or pictures via some external hardware using HDMI, DLNA, use the internet, play games and they’re all set. They most likely came from non-smartphones, sidekicks, flip-phones and were enthused that they could get a "smartphone" so conveniently. But if Google were about the people Android would’ve been far more usable and pleasant experience for it’s users instead of now scrambling to make tweaks here and there (this is where they copy too) and get critical acclaim from it’s users.

What the Fandroids people need to understand however is that, Android didn’t just appear out of thin air, it was someone’s work that created it and Android can’t be free because evidently it also includes software bit patented by other companies. Even if your argument is that that bit of software is too minute to consider, one must understand that someone’s effort went into thinking of and creating that little bit! Also if it were so insignificant then Google’s engineers would’ve been quick to replace the infringing bit eons ago and we wouldn’t be in this patent mess.

So in all what I am saying is may the "man" who put the effort, the blood sweat and tears into getting us where we are in mobile technology win this current patent war and that people should be informed before blindly selling themselves to a company.

(I am a budding journalist and may not have constructed all of my thoughts well but I hope you go the gist of it)

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The Real Value Of Motorola’s Patents When Compared To Others

August 16, 2011 | By Pradeep

Almost everyone in the tech industry feels that Google’s acquisition of Motorola was all about Patents and about neither their technology nor their talents. With Motorola’s patents playing an important role, lets take a look at the real value of Motorola’s patents. First and foremost, Motorola’s 17000+ patents are not filed just within this decade. Many of them are old day patents which are of no value today. To put that in a perspective, take a look at the table below,

Year	Motorola’s Rank in Top 10 List
1997	4
1998	4
1999	8
2000	9
2001-2011	-

So Motorola was a leader in Patents and IP in the period of 1990’s. Leaving the old patents aside, what about the recent patents from Motorola and how it compares to Microsoft’s recent patent portfolio ? IEEE every year releases a Patent power scorecard, which tells the value of patents by each organization calculated not just by the volume but many other factors such as self citations, originality, etc.

Rank	Company	2009 US Patents	Pipeline Growth Index	Pipeline Impact	Self Citations	Adjusted Pipeline Impact	Pipeline Generality	Pipeline Originality	Pipeline Power	Adjusted Pipeline Power
1	Microsoft	2918	1.43	1.29	36.7%	1.20	1.32	1.12	7953	7422
2	Oracle	338	1.09	1.32	22.8%	1.32	1.38	1.49	994	994
3	Sun	580	1.07	1.02	8.3%	1.02	1.13	1.75	1075	1075
3	Motorola	508	.92	1.23	5.3%	1.23	1.18	0.88	598	598
6	Nortel	245	.90	1.12	4.2%	1.12	1.17	1.36	397	397
11	Interdigital	187	1.34	.68	34.7%	.65	.97	.25	42	40
14	Apple	294	1.58	1.25	32%	1.23	1.26	.42	308	302

Rank column indicated ranks of companies in their respective industries such as Networks, Software, etc. You can find the full document from IEEE here.

Bloomberg Businessweek conducted a research on IP owned by MNC’s, Here is the result,

I think you may now realize how patent numbers doesn’t matter much. Its all about the values those patents provides. Google is not even listed in any of the above lists. Google with Motorola’s patents may try to convince Apple, but not Microsoft or Oracle (including Sun). What do you think?

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Did Microsoft impending major Motorola patent licensing deal forced Google’s hand?

August 15, 2011 | By Surur

The Google Motorola purchase plot has thickened further, with the news that Google was in fact not being pro-active but reacting to Microsoft’s efforts to secure a major patent licensing deal with Motorola.

Business Insider reports Microsoft was close to settling its patent dispute with Motorola, and signing a cross-licensing deal like it’s done with HTC and other companies. This may have been whatwas behind Sanjay Jha’s comments from the weekend, where he said he was open to adopting Windows phone 7 if he had as good a deal as Nokia had. His comments likely spurred Google into offering an even larger premium the company which has frankly been sliding these last few quarters.

Motorola had already signalled that it was prepared to go on the patent offense, using its patent library to raise licensing revenue from other Android OEMs. Google is seems had no real alternative to buying Motorola.

Microsoft on the other hand is set to position themselves as the more open platform without the massive conflicts of interest Google has now inherited, and is now, according to Business Insider, even less likely to purchase Nokia or RIMM.

The Register however reports the deal may in fact be a dud, with the patents Google purchased not close to as relevant or valuable as Google imagined.

To add a Machiavellian twist, did Microsoft just force Google to blow $12.5 billion on nothing useful. How is that for a “false gotcha”?

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Motorola wants same deal as Nokia from Microsoft

August 9, 2011 | By Surur

At a recent industry conference Motorola Mobility’s Sanjay Jha has confirmed once again that they are open to developing a Windows Phone 7 handset.

"I think we’re completely open to the notion of Windows as a platform," Jha said in an appearance at the Oppenheimer Technology & Communications Conference.

He confirmed however that they would only do it if they achieved special partner status like Nokia has, saying otherwise that at present "clearly, all of our focus today is on Android."

Jha was still waiting to see which OS will shake it for the 3rd place, saying only one of Windows Phone 7, webOS and RIM can survive.

While Motorola has seen an early revival from adopting Android, the company has not been able to maintain their momentum, suffering an operating loss once again in the most latest quarter.

Motorola envious of Nokia’s relationship with Microsoft

June 25, 2011 | By Surur

motorola-logo1 Sanjay Ja, CEO of Motorola Mobility, has warned that consolidation is coming in the mobile phone industry, and that it will mainly be in the form of software companies pairing up with hardware companies.

"I’m not convinced that handset manufacturers acquiring other manufacturers is the best way for value to be created for shareholders," he said in an interview with Fortune. "Consolidation across content manufacturers and hardware and software manufacturers–I see a bunch of different ways for this consolidation to occur, to create shareholder value and create different structures to the industry."

Jha pointed to Hewlett-Packard’s acquisition of Palm and webOS as well as Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft on Windows Phone 7 as examples of this.

He said Motorola might be open to the possibility of combining resources with a software company and was not sure if Motorola would remain an independent company. "There are lots of opportunities for us to combine different resources and create more shareholder value," he said.

Interestingly the company who was on top of the phone world 5-6 years ago with the Razr had a warning for Apple.

“I’m loath to comment on vulnerabilities of a company that has been incredibly successful in delivering world-class products," he said. "On the other hand, I would say that scale and innovation very often don’t mix. Defence of market share and other defensive actions very often set in, and middle management begins to drive the culture and strategy of a company. I’m certain the folks at Apple are very cognizant and are prepared to make sure that doesn’t occur. But not speaking about Apple in particular, the scale that comes with that level of success is very often the beginning of a decline."

Motorola building own phone OS, they should use Windows Phone

March 24, 2011 | By Surur

Android Litigation Infographic-thumb-610x392-28436

Would you bet your business on a criminal OS?

Motorola is rumoured to be building their own phone operating system based on web standards, hiring developers from Adobe and Apple.

Analysts are suggesting the move is to counter the risk of being wholly dependent on Google for their smartphone OS, a risky strategy given the shaky legal foundations the mobile operating system is built upon.

As Deutsche Bank analyst Jonathan Goldberg notes: “Nobody wants to rely on a single supplier.”

Both Microsoft and Apple are current suing Motorola, and it is likely a licensing agreement with Microsoft would make at least one of these go away, and provide Motorola with more leverage with Google, who has recently started asserting its power by demanding OEMS not customize the user interface for Honeycomb tablets.

Android has so far gathered up 37 law suites in less than 2 years, and face accusations of wide-spread IP theft. Google provides no indemnification for its OEMs, leaving them to bear the brunt of Google’s machinations.

While creating their own operating system is a bold move, the likely outcome is great software with no ecosystem, much like Samsung’s Bada and HP’s webOS, both of which failed to get developer momentum.

Windows Phone 7 appears to be in a different league from these operating systems, gathering an impressive 11,500 apps in only a few months.

Motorola has of course never closed the door completely to Windows Phone 7, and while Nokia has decided to stop wasting $3 billion a year developing their own OS, may eventually decide the effort is not worth the return, and come back to its roots.

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