Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are finally taking their disagreements to court over a patent infringement lawsuit. This time though, it’s Google accusing Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) of copying patents.
Bloomberg recently reported that Google filed the lawsuit with International Trade Commission. They hope to request a ban on imports for iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers.
They say the technology behind Siri infringed on Motorola patents, and none of them actually qualify as “standard-essential” patents, which cover technology that is “incorporated into an invention to comply with industry standards.”
Courts set the rates for licensing the patents. The Federal Trade Commission(FTC) and others are arguing that there should not be import bans on such products, which violate standard patents.
If anything, this patent lawsuit shows that Google is not loosening up on their battles with Apple and other smartphone makers. This is actually Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG Motorola’s second lawsuit against Apple. The first complaint is coming to a ruling by the end of this week.
FOSS Patent blogger, Florian Miller, explained in a recent post that the preliminary ruling from the ITC judge deemed that Apple only copied one patent.
Stanford University law professor, Mark Lemley, explained I think it’s too late to hold out much hope that the parties will settle before the jury comes back. When there is a settlement — and there will be — it will be a global deal involving more than just this case.”
This whole patent infringement lawsuit is interesting for several reasons. It’s interesting to see that Google/Motorola is the first the instigate the lawsuit against Apple. It’s also interesting to see that Motorola is claiming that Apple infringed on of their products, especially considering that the former is financially poor and it’s really hard to imagine any company taking patents from them.
