Hasta La Gadget!

Well over a month ago, Motorola filed a bunch of patent infringement claims against Apple with the International Trade Commission (ITC), and wanted an import ban on virtually all Apple products including Macs, iPhones and iPads. However, Motorola has withdrawn the lawsuit entirely without an explanation. The company says that no agreement has been reached with Apple, so we’re left scratching our heads.

At this point, we can only speculate as to why Motorola dropped the lawsuit without any settlement from either side. Usually, a withdrawal like this would indicate that the Motorola and Apple have reached some kind of settlement, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here, so now we’re only left wondering what’s going on in Motorola’s head.

It’s possible that Motorola felt that they no longer thought the lawsuit was strong enough to beat Apple, and FOSS Patent’s Florian Mueller also speculates that Motorola’s issues with tracking down copies of all the needed certified documents had something to do with it. Either reasons are certainly realistic.

Apple and Motorola are currently engaged in various lawsuits against each other, including another lawsuit that Motorola filed against Apple with the ITC in 2010. That one is still active, and while an administrative law judge ruled it invalid, the ITC disagreed, so the case was sent back to the judge, and he wrote in a filing yesterday that he is targeting an April 2013 finish date for the lawsuit.

[via The Verge]

Motorola drops ITC lawsuit against Apple is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This just hasn’t been Samsung’s summer. On top of Apple winning its earliest civil lawsuit against Samsung, the International Trade Commission has just handed out an initial determination that Apple didn’t violate any of four Samsung patents (including two reportedly standards-essential examples) by offering the iPad and iPhone. While Judge James Gildea didn’t publicly outline why Apple was in the clear, he added that Samsung lacks a domestic business that uses the patents — important when it’s trying to claim economic harm in the US. The verdict still gives Samsung at least four months’ room to breathe while the ITC reviews the decision, but it’s hard to see Samsung enjoying the reduced offensive strength when it’s already on the defensive in American courtrooms.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

ITC says Apple didn’t violate four Samsung patents with iPad, iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trouble looked to be brewing for Apple last April: an International Trade Commission judge made an initial ruling that Apple infringed on a standards-essential Motorola WiFi patent, raising the possibility of a trade ban if the verdict held true. The fellows in Cupertino may have caught a big break. A Commission review of the decision on Friday determined that Apple didn’t violate the patent, and it upheld positions that exonerated the iPhone maker regarding two others. Apple isn’t entirely off the hook, however. The ITC is remanding the case to the judge to review his stance that Apple hadn’t violated a non-standards-based patent, which still leaves Apple facing the prospect of a ban. However, having to revisit the case nearly resets the clock — we now have to wait for another ruling and a matching review, and that likely puts any final decision well into 2013. Google-owned Motorola isn’t lacking more weapons in its arsenal, but any stalled proceedings take away bargaining chips in what’s become a high-stakes game.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

ITC decides Apple didn’t violate Motorola WiFi patent after all, tosses case back to judge originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We hope you didn’t think that Motorola would fight a purely defensive patent war against Apple after Google’s acquisition closed. Just days before a final ruling on its initial complaints, the RAZR maker has filed another dispute with the International Trade Commission that accuses Apple of violating patents through some iOS devices and Macs. Exact details of the dispute are under wraps for now; Motorola, as you’d imagine, only contends that it has no choice after Apple’s “unwillingness to work out a license.” While Apple hasn’t said anything about the subject, we already know how much it disagrees with Motorola’s previous licensing strategy — it’s unlikely Apple will just roll over, no matter what’s at stake.

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops

Post-acquisition Motorola files fresh ITC complaint against Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a quick refresher on HTC’s legal battle against Apple: the company’s launch of the One X and EVO 4G LTE in the United States was stalled briefly thanks to an import ban handed down by the ITC after the handsets were found to infringe on one of Apple’s patents. Now, in a second case involving the ITC, HTC has had to remove a crucial patent, bringing its total claims down from 8 to 2.

FOSS Patents reports that HTC withdrew another patent from its ITC case against Apple on Monday, #7,765,414. The patent relates to a “circuit and operating method for integrated interface of PDA and wireless communication system[s].” HTC originally brought a complaint against Apple in August 2011, citing three patents at first, then adding five given to the company on loan from Google. The judge in the case threw those loaned patents out in June, however, leaving HTC with its original three.

The withdrawal of this latest patent means HTC is now only asserting two claims against Apple in its ITC complaint. Apple, meanwhile, is claiming that FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms) is being blatantly abused, and is counterclaiming against HTC in US District Court over two other patents. Patent #7,765,414 was HTC’s only in-house patent, with its others borrowed from other companies such as Google and ADT. The trial in this particularly case is due to start within the next month.

It’s not the first time HTC has tangled with Apple and the ITC. Back in June, Apple secured an import ban against the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE, as both handsets were found to infringe on one of Cupertino’s patents. HTC quickly issued a software fix to remove the offending functionality, relating to menu context items, allowing the phones back into the United States. Apple cried foul, however, and still asserts that multiple HTC phones still infringe on its patents.

HTC removes patent in ITC case against Apple is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.