US: Google’s Motorola dealt blow in patent wars with Microsoft

Motorola, owned by Google, has been dealt a blow by a US district judge concerning its ongoing rivalry with Microsoft concerning the use of patents. US District Judge James Robart has ruled that Motorola cannot require $4 billion a year in payments from Microsoft for the use of patented wireless technology, noting that the licenses for the technology are worse less than half of that $4 billion sum. The ruling is the latest development in the rivalry, in which both companies sued each other for use of those patents; Motorola accused Microsoft of patent infringement, while Microsoft accused Motorola of excessive licensing fees. It’s part of a larger issue concerning patents within antitrust, as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as well as the International Telecommunication Union requires both conglomerates to license essential patents on a RANT basis – reasonable and nondiscriminatory. Judge Robart had previously chastised both companies for being “arrogant” in their cases, arguing that the companies are part of a larger ploy in the fight for “commercial advantage.” The judge’s earlier decision ruled that Microsoft is entitled to a license from Motorola; soon after, a judge in Germany ruled that Microsoft had breached its licensing agreement with Motorola.