Apple-Motorola Lawsuit: $2.7 Billion at Risk
Following the victory of Motorola Mobility in a legal dispute against Apple in Germany related to the infringement of two patents, it seems that the Californian Company risks a loss of $2.7 billion in an ongoing patent case in Europe concerning iCloud and MobileMe.
If the judge approves the charges relating to the breach of Motorola, Apple would be asked to pay collateral damage of $2.7 billion to Motorola. With regard to that risk, Apple has asked the court how much it would be liable for as damages, in case the Judge approved the charges. Despite the way that Apple has come to this conclusion, the judge seems to not completely agree with the assessment of the company.
The news comes just after shareholders of Motorola Mobility have overwhelmingly voted to approve Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of the company. The Google-Motorola merger is set to close late this year or early 2012 or mid-2012.
The dispute between Motorola and Apple is part of a major patent war currently taking place within the mobile industry. Motorola’s mobile division earlier this month already won their first success against Apple in Mannheim. The companies are also entangled in patent disputes in the U.S.
Manufacturers associated with the Google Android operating system are being targeted by rivals such as Apple or Microsoft. Samsung is fighting a high profile battle with Apple in many countries where Samsung continues to face a string of legal woes. Apple has requested Australian court to ban Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the Australian market injecting infringement suits against Samsung.
On the other hand, Samsung is gearing up to file a preliminary injunction in France, Italy, Japan and Australia after the launch iPhone 4S. Samsung has also asked Australian court to access the source code of the iPhone 4S, claiming three patents related to the network connection with 3G wireless technology and the transmission of mobile data.
The conflict between Apple with Motorola makes it particularly interesting after Google acquisition of Motorola Mobility. The search leader wants to strengthen its patent portfolio behind Android, and to gain mobile patents and expand in the hardware business.
Since you’re here …
… We’d like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.
If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.
