Wednesday 3 October 2012

Motorola drops one ITC Patent case against Apple

Motorola Mobility, the unit of Google Inc. (GOOG)’s has become ready to to withdraw a patent-infringement complaint it filed in August against Apple Inc. (AAPL) at the U.S. International Trade Commission. However, it did not come with any reason for such step.
Motorola Mobility reserves the right to refile claims against the AAP, and it denied the existence of any agreement between the two companies, according to filing on the ITC’s electronic docket. Also, a notice of dismissal was filed in a companion civil lawsuit filed in a federal court in Wilmington, Delaware.

California based Apple, and Illinois based Motorola Mobility, have been fighting about smartphone-related patents since around 2010 after licensing talks failed. Apple is claiming that Motorola Mobility violated obligations to license some of its patents on fair terms. A non-jury trial on the same issue is scheduled to begin in the first week of November this year, in a federal court in Madison, Wisconsin. 

In the case that has been withdrawn, Apple was accused of infringing seven Motorola Mobility patents on features including interactive voice commands, location reminders, e-mail notification and phone/video players. Motorola Mobility said that it hoped the filing of the suit in August and the threat against Apple’s iPhone would push the two sides into settlement talks.  

In the order passed yesterday by the ITC Judge Thomas Pender said that he will make a decision by Dec. 21 on that issue. 

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