The International Trade Commission has ruled that Motorola Mobility has violated six of Microsoft's smartphone patents, in a decision claimed as a victory by both companies.
The patent concerned is one of seven Windows Phone and Windows Mobile patents which Microsoft claimed was being infringed. US Patent No. 6,370,566 covers 'generating meeting requests and group scheduling from a mobile device'. Offending handsets include the Droid 2, Droid X, Cliq XT, Devour and Backflip.
In the event, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruled that the other six patents weren't being violated.
"We are very pleased that the majority of the rulings were favorable to Motorola Mobility," says Scott Offer, senior vice president and general counsel of Motorola Mobility.
"The ALJ’s initial determination may provide clarity on the definition of the Microsoft 566 patent for which a violation was found and will help us avoid infringement of this patent in the US market."
However, the patent that was upheld appears to cover the ability to schedule meeting requests from mobile devices - a pretty basic feature for business users in particular.
"If they're on travel or even just at lunch or in a meeting room, they want to be able to schedule meetings without having to go back to their office. Scheduling meetings is also increasingly popular on some social networks, so it's probably a feature for both enterprise users and consumers," says patent expert Florian Mueller.
"It remains to be seen how Motorola will address this issue as well as any other Android patent issues that will present themselves along the way, with many other cases and dozens of other patents still waiting for a decision."
With Motorola Mobility already in Google's shopping cart, the search giant must be worried. it's buying Motorola Mobility specifically to protect Android vendors from patent lawsuits such as this.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label motorola. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label motorola. Tampilkan semua postingan
Rabu, 21 Desember 2011
Jumat, 09 Desember 2011
Motorola wins Apple wireless patent fight in German
Motorola Mobility could now try to force Apple's 3G products off Germany's shop shelves Continue reading the main story
Related Stories Australia lifts Samsung sales ban German HTC retailers face lawsuit Amazon's patent troubles spiral
A German court has ruled in Motorola Mobility's favour in a patents dispute with Apple.
The Android smartphone maker had complained that Apple failed to license one of its wireless intellectual properties.
Apple uses the technology in its iPhones and 3G iPads.
Motorola could now try to force Apple to remove the feature from its devices or halt sales in Germany. However, Apple said it intended to appeal.
Motorola said the ruling validated its "efforts to enforce its patents against Apple's infringement".
Apple responded: "We're going to appeal the court's ruling right away. Holiday shoppers in Germany should have no problem finding the iPad or iPhone they want."
If Motorola does decide to pursue an injunction blocking sales of Apple's products the case could result in a clash between the iPad maker and Google - Motorola's shareholders have approved the search giant's takeover of their company and the deal is due to be completed in 2012.
Fighting times
The case relates to Motorola's patent for a "method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system".
Motorola licenses this patent to others on Frand (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) terms.
The owner of a Frand-type patent is obligated to license out its technology to third-parties because the invention has been declared to be essential to an industry standard.
Apple had offered to pay a Frand-set fee going forward and was willing to pay a similar rate for past infringements. But it lost the case because it tried to retain the right to contest the validity of the patent with a view to past damages.
It tried to do this because Motorola had defended its right to charge an above-Frand rate for Apple's use of its technology over the past four years. This could have been many times higher than the rate Apple was willing to pay and potentially very expensive.
Motorola will have to post a 100m euro (£85m; $133m) bond if it wishes to enforce a sales injunction against Apple. The cash would cover compensation to Apple if the ruling was later overturned.
Motorola welcomed the ruling.
"We will continue to take all necessary steps to protect our intellectual property, as the company's patent portfolio and licensing agreements with companies both in the US and around the world are critical to our business," said Scott Offer, senior vice-president and general counsel of Motorola Mobility.
"We have been negotiating with Apple and offering them reasonable licensing terms and conditions since 2007, and will continue our efforts to resolve our global patent dispute as soon as practicable."
Appeal details
Patent watchers say it could be years before the case is resolved.
"This is really a given between such large players in high stakes disputes," said Florian Mueller, a patent consultant who revealed the court's verdict on his blog.
"In Germany you get a first ruling by a regional court rather quickly - this litigation started in April this year. Usually between companies of this stature the disputes go to the higher regional court and that could take a couple of years," Mr Mueller told the BBC.
Mr Mueller advises Microsoft and others and has campaigned for patent reform in Europe.
He said Apple could try to revise its products, but noted that Frand-type patents were, by their nature, hard to work around. He added that doing so could run the risk of causing communication problems with the mobile networks' equipment.
Samsung tablet ban
Although Apple is on the receiving end of this lawsuit it has also been very active in the courts suing HTC, Samsung and Motorola among others for claimed patent infringements.
It temporarily managed to have Samsung's tablets banned from sale in Australia, although the restriction was overturned earlier today.
The US International Trade Commission is expected to rule on its dispute with Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC on 14 December. The judgement could lead to shipments of HTC's products being blocked in the US.
Although the targets of Apple's lawsuits are often firms which use Google's Android software, the two firms have avoided suing each other. That is set to change when Google's takeover of Motorola Mobility is completed early next year.
"Google with its pending acquisition will be watching this case with great interest as any victory is an endorsement of Motorola's patent portfolio that it is seeking to acquire," said Ben Cross, director of research at the telecoms consultancy CCS Insight.(bbc.co.uk)
Related Stories Australia lifts Samsung sales ban German HTC retailers face lawsuit Amazon's patent troubles spiral
A German court has ruled in Motorola Mobility's favour in a patents dispute with Apple.
The Android smartphone maker had complained that Apple failed to license one of its wireless intellectual properties.
Apple uses the technology in its iPhones and 3G iPads.
Motorola could now try to force Apple to remove the feature from its devices or halt sales in Germany. However, Apple said it intended to appeal.
Motorola said the ruling validated its "efforts to enforce its patents against Apple's infringement".
Apple responded: "We're going to appeal the court's ruling right away. Holiday shoppers in Germany should have no problem finding the iPad or iPhone they want."
If Motorola does decide to pursue an injunction blocking sales of Apple's products the case could result in a clash between the iPad maker and Google - Motorola's shareholders have approved the search giant's takeover of their company and the deal is due to be completed in 2012.
Fighting times
The case relates to Motorola's patent for a "method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system".
Motorola licenses this patent to others on Frand (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) terms.
The owner of a Frand-type patent is obligated to license out its technology to third-parties because the invention has been declared to be essential to an industry standard.
Apple had offered to pay a Frand-set fee going forward and was willing to pay a similar rate for past infringements. But it lost the case because it tried to retain the right to contest the validity of the patent with a view to past damages.
It tried to do this because Motorola had defended its right to charge an above-Frand rate for Apple's use of its technology over the past four years. This could have been many times higher than the rate Apple was willing to pay and potentially very expensive.
Motorola will have to post a 100m euro (£85m; $133m) bond if it wishes to enforce a sales injunction against Apple. The cash would cover compensation to Apple if the ruling was later overturned.
Motorola welcomed the ruling.
"We will continue to take all necessary steps to protect our intellectual property, as the company's patent portfolio and licensing agreements with companies both in the US and around the world are critical to our business," said Scott Offer, senior vice-president and general counsel of Motorola Mobility.
"We have been negotiating with Apple and offering them reasonable licensing terms and conditions since 2007, and will continue our efforts to resolve our global patent dispute as soon as practicable."
Appeal details
Patent watchers say it could be years before the case is resolved.
"This is really a given between such large players in high stakes disputes," said Florian Mueller, a patent consultant who revealed the court's verdict on his blog.
"In Germany you get a first ruling by a regional court rather quickly - this litigation started in April this year. Usually between companies of this stature the disputes go to the higher regional court and that could take a couple of years," Mr Mueller told the BBC.
Mr Mueller advises Microsoft and others and has campaigned for patent reform in Europe.
He said Apple could try to revise its products, but noted that Frand-type patents were, by their nature, hard to work around. He added that doing so could run the risk of causing communication problems with the mobile networks' equipment.
Samsung tablet ban
Although Apple is on the receiving end of this lawsuit it has also been very active in the courts suing HTC, Samsung and Motorola among others for claimed patent infringements.
It temporarily managed to have Samsung's tablets banned from sale in Australia, although the restriction was overturned earlier today.
The US International Trade Commission is expected to rule on its dispute with Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC on 14 December. The judgement could lead to shipments of HTC's products being blocked in the US.
Although the targets of Apple's lawsuits are often firms which use Google's Android software, the two firms have avoided suing each other. That is set to change when Google's takeover of Motorola Mobility is completed early next year.
"Google with its pending acquisition will be watching this case with great interest as any victory is an endorsement of Motorola's patent portfolio that it is seeking to acquire," said Ben Cross, director of research at the telecoms consultancy CCS Insight.(bbc.co.uk)
Motorola scores Apple iPhone/iPad injunction in Germany
Motorola Mobility has won a wireless patent case against Apple in Germany this morning, meaning – unless Apple can secure a stay until an appeal can be heard – the iPhone and iPad could be blocked from sale in the country. A Germany court ruled that Apple’s cellularly-enabled devices infringe European Patent 1010336, detailing a “method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system” FOSS Patents reports, and deemed an essential component of the GPRS data standard. Motorola will have to cough up a €100m bond if it wants to chase a sales injunction, however.
That bond – which is designed to cover Apple’s losses should the patent case be subsequently overturned while an injunction was imposed – is considerably less than the €2bn the Cupertino company’s legal team demanded. If Motorola Mobility pushes ahead, Apple is almost certain to request a stay on the injunction while it files an appeal. The original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad WiFi + 3G and iPad 2 WiFi + 3G are all named in Motorola’s case, though the iPhone 4S is also likely to be impacted.
Apple could attempt to modify its products to work around Motorola’s patent, though it’s unclear how feasible such an endeavor might be. Alternatively, under European law, Apple could seek to license the patent; the company has already attempted to license it under FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms, but Motorola managed to convince the court that the damages involved should Apple be found to have infringed would exceed FRAND rates. Motorola could agree to a license covering future products, but not applying retrospectively, and insist on damages for Apple’s past infringement.
The general opinion is that Apple will seek to convince an appeals court that Motorola should grant a compulsory FRAND license, with minimal penalties for past actions. There’s no word on when the appeal might be heard.
That bond – which is designed to cover Apple’s losses should the patent case be subsequently overturned while an injunction was imposed – is considerably less than the €2bn the Cupertino company’s legal team demanded. If Motorola Mobility pushes ahead, Apple is almost certain to request a stay on the injunction while it files an appeal. The original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad WiFi + 3G and iPad 2 WiFi + 3G are all named in Motorola’s case, though the iPhone 4S is also likely to be impacted.
Apple could attempt to modify its products to work around Motorola’s patent, though it’s unclear how feasible such an endeavor might be. Alternatively, under European law, Apple could seek to license the patent; the company has already attempted to license it under FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms, but Motorola managed to convince the court that the damages involved should Apple be found to have infringed would exceed FRAND rates. Motorola could agree to a license covering future products, but not applying retrospectively, and insist on damages for Apple’s past infringement.
The general opinion is that Apple will seek to convince an appeals court that Motorola should grant a compulsory FRAND license, with minimal penalties for past actions. There’s no word on when the appeal might be heard.
Kamis, 08 Desember 2011
Motorola, Sony Ericsson explain to customers why they won't get the new Android 4.0 for months
Unlike Apple, which immediately released its new iOS 5 on the same day for all its current devices, including models that are now over two years old, Motorola Mobility and Sony Ericsson are offering their customers excuses as to why the latest release of Google's Android 4.0 won't be available to them for many more months, if ever.
Motorla Mobility and Sony Ericsson have issued lengthly explanations offering various reasons why their customers won't receive updates anytime soon to Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which was made available in a generic form three weeks ago. The explanations highlight a major difference between Apple's integrated iOS software and Google's broadly licensed Android platform.
Open like Windows, if it were only launched by Dell
"Like you, we are excited to see that Google released the source code to Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS)!"
Motorola stated in a blog posting.
"There are many steps and processes that go into Ice Cream Sandwich in a way that works for the carrier and for you," Motorola states, adding, "once source code is released from Google, it doesn’t automatically update to your device." Both Motorola and Sony Ericsson are members of the Open Handset Alliance tasked with developing Android, and therefore might be understood to be privy to the development of the latest Android release before its final appearance.
However, Motorola explains that "each new version of Android launches with one device partner, in what is called the 'Google Experience Device' or GED, the showcase device for a new Android release."
A very short list of Motorola's Android 4.0 updates
Outside of the launch partner, other members of the Android community only gain "access to the Android source code as its [sic] made public shortly after," Motorola explains.
Now that has happened, the company says it is "currently assessing this source code, and over the next month we will be determining which devices will get the upgrade and when.
" Android licensees' lists of supported devices that will get updates to the latest release of Android typically only involve very recent, new devices. In Motorola's case, it only notes the Droid RAZR, Droid Bionic and Xoom tablets as its current targets for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This excludes the once highly touted Motorola Atrix 4G that was launched alongside Apple's iPhone 4 last year, along with the also relatively new and widely sold Droid 2, Droid X and X2 models, all of which will be stuck with last year's Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The original Droid/Milestone, which arrived a few months after Apple's iPhone 3GS, is stuck on Android 2.2 Froyo, an even older release.
Sony Ericsson similarly noted that the release of Android 4.0 "meant the start of an intensive period for the engineers at Sony Ericsson, in order to create a working, stable and certified software release of Ice Cream Sandwich for our 2011 Xperia™ phones." That excludes support for Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10, released in the US last fall with specs similar to the iPhone 4.
It will be stuck with Gingerbread, but as Wikipedia notes, "Since the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) update the phone has suffered a stuttering in play or streaming of music regardless of file association. The only solution currently is to root your phone and apply a patch located on the XDA developers forum. Sony refuses to acknowledge the problem and have as of late offered no solution to this bug."
This fractionalization of the Android platform means that developers have few reasons to incorporate support for features in the latest version of Android, because most Android users are still using a version that's over a year old (according to Google). As of December 1, half of the traffic visiting Android Market is still using last winter's 2.3.Gingerbread, while more than 45 percent is using an even older version.
The long road to releasing Android 4.0
For the few models it chooses to support with an update, Motorola says it must spend some time incorporating support for unique hardware involved in its products, including the specific processors, GPUs and other chips that are not natively supported in the generic Android release.
"This is also the time when we begin integrating all of the Motorola-specific software enhancements into the source code," the company adds. " Features like MotoCast, Smart Actions, and our comprehensive enterprise solutions are integral parts of our device experiences, and we want to make sure we continue delivering differentiated experiences for our consumers with these software upgrades."
Some of Motorola's additional software has had the side effect of breaking Android's permissions-based security system, although not nearly as bad as HTC and Samsung's additional software, which researchers note has opened up the ability for rogue apps to steal private, data, track users' precise locations, wipe the phone entirely, or record calls and send paid SMS messages.
Carriers add more months to Android rollouts
Once an Android licensee has finished working out release bugs to an acceptable level, it releases its hardware-specific updates to the mobile carriers, which have to test and certify the updates, something that Motorola says can involve "a two-month preparation cycle to enter a carrier lab cycle of one to three months."
"Contrary to what people may think," Sony Ericsson states, "it is not the Bring up phase [adding vendor hardware and software customizations], but the Certification and approval phase that is the most time consuming process when it comes to getting a new software release out on our phones.
"This is one of the major tasks that are legally required from us as phone manufacturer, but is a task that the custom ROM community doesn’t have to take into consideration. Furthermore,by putting all this efforts into testing and certification, we ensure that quality and conformance is at a top level, in benefit for all consumers worldwide."
By Daniel Eran Dilger(appleinsider.com)
Motorla Mobility and Sony Ericsson have issued lengthly explanations offering various reasons why their customers won't receive updates anytime soon to Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which was made available in a generic form three weeks ago. The explanations highlight a major difference between Apple's integrated iOS software and Google's broadly licensed Android platform.
Open like Windows, if it were only launched by Dell
"Like you, we are excited to see that Google released the source code to Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS)!"
Motorola stated in a blog posting.
"There are many steps and processes that go into Ice Cream Sandwich in a way that works for the carrier and for you," Motorola states, adding, "once source code is released from Google, it doesn’t automatically update to your device." Both Motorola and Sony Ericsson are members of the Open Handset Alliance tasked with developing Android, and therefore might be understood to be privy to the development of the latest Android release before its final appearance.
However, Motorola explains that "each new version of Android launches with one device partner, in what is called the 'Google Experience Device' or GED, the showcase device for a new Android release."
A very short list of Motorola's Android 4.0 updates
Outside of the launch partner, other members of the Android community only gain "access to the Android source code as its [sic] made public shortly after," Motorola explains.
Now that has happened, the company says it is "currently assessing this source code, and over the next month we will be determining which devices will get the upgrade and when.
" Android licensees' lists of supported devices that will get updates to the latest release of Android typically only involve very recent, new devices. In Motorola's case, it only notes the Droid RAZR, Droid Bionic and Xoom tablets as its current targets for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This excludes the once highly touted Motorola Atrix 4G that was launched alongside Apple's iPhone 4 last year, along with the also relatively new and widely sold Droid 2, Droid X and X2 models, all of which will be stuck with last year's Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The original Droid/Milestone, which arrived a few months after Apple's iPhone 3GS, is stuck on Android 2.2 Froyo, an even older release.
Sony Ericsson similarly noted that the release of Android 4.0 "meant the start of an intensive period for the engineers at Sony Ericsson, in order to create a working, stable and certified software release of Ice Cream Sandwich for our 2011 Xperia™ phones." That excludes support for Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10, released in the US last fall with specs similar to the iPhone 4.
It will be stuck with Gingerbread, but as Wikipedia notes, "Since the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) update the phone has suffered a stuttering in play or streaming of music regardless of file association. The only solution currently is to root your phone and apply a patch located on the XDA developers forum. Sony refuses to acknowledge the problem and have as of late offered no solution to this bug."
This fractionalization of the Android platform means that developers have few reasons to incorporate support for features in the latest version of Android, because most Android users are still using a version that's over a year old (according to Google). As of December 1, half of the traffic visiting Android Market is still using last winter's 2.3.Gingerbread, while more than 45 percent is using an even older version.
The long road to releasing Android 4.0
For the few models it chooses to support with an update, Motorola says it must spend some time incorporating support for unique hardware involved in its products, including the specific processors, GPUs and other chips that are not natively supported in the generic Android release.
"This is also the time when we begin integrating all of the Motorola-specific software enhancements into the source code," the company adds. " Features like MotoCast, Smart Actions, and our comprehensive enterprise solutions are integral parts of our device experiences, and we want to make sure we continue delivering differentiated experiences for our consumers with these software upgrades."
Some of Motorola's additional software has had the side effect of breaking Android's permissions-based security system, although not nearly as bad as HTC and Samsung's additional software, which researchers note has opened up the ability for rogue apps to steal private, data, track users' precise locations, wipe the phone entirely, or record calls and send paid SMS messages.
Carriers add more months to Android rollouts
Once an Android licensee has finished working out release bugs to an acceptable level, it releases its hardware-specific updates to the mobile carriers, which have to test and certify the updates, something that Motorola says can involve "a two-month preparation cycle to enter a carrier lab cycle of one to three months."
"Contrary to what people may think," Sony Ericsson states, "it is not the Bring up phase [adding vendor hardware and software customizations], but the Certification and approval phase that is the most time consuming process when it comes to getting a new software release out on our phones.
"This is one of the major tasks that are legally required from us as phone manufacturer, but is a task that the custom ROM community doesn’t have to take into consideration. Furthermore,by putting all this efforts into testing and certification, we ensure that quality and conformance is at a top level, in benefit for all consumers worldwide."
By Daniel Eran Dilger(appleinsider.com)
Sony Ericsson and Motorola Detail Android 4.0 Upgrade Path
We've talked in the past about how OEMs take the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and use it to build software tailored for devices in the context of x86 optimizations, and today two partners are sharing some more details about their specific timelines for Android 4.0 releases.
Those two are Sony Ericsson and Motorola, who have outlined in their respective blog posts the path from code to getting a fully baked ROM pushed out over the air to handsets. The two posts describe the process as we've understood it for a while now, and with Android 4.0 things don't seem any different. Google works with a specific OEM and SoC vendor around some chosen reference hardware (in this case Galaxy Nexus), and simultaneously (or close to it) releases the source code and device when things are finished.
At that point, SoC vendors begin working on their own ports and build in necessary drivers or optimizations of their own. That software package then is turned over to OEMs who add their own specific software (in the case of Motorola, for example - MotoCast, Smart Actions, and likely Blur) and make necessary tweaks to accommodate individual carrier equirements and device nuances. After the OEM finishes up its own testing, the update then passes over to carriers for their own testing, and here things have been a bit fuzzy. Motorola gives out an interesting tidbit today in their post, oting that while each carrier is different, the testing period is on the order of months:
Each carrier has different requirements for phases 2 and 3. There may be a two-month preparation cycle to enter a carrier lab cycle of one to three months.
Sony Ericsson also notes that this certification and testing phase is the longest in the process:
The Certification and approval phase that is the most time consuming process when it comes to getting a new software release out on our phones. This is one of the major tasks that are legally required from us as phone manufacturer, but is a task that the custom ROM community doesn’t have to take into consideration.
Motorola has noted as well that the Droid RAZR, Bionic, and Xoom are all guaranteed to get an ICS port before the second half of 2012, and the list of Motorola devices being upgraded to 4.0 will likely grow. Meanwhile Sony Ericsson noted that the entire 2011 Xperia family will receive an update to 4.0 and that dates will come later.(anandtech.com)
Those two are Sony Ericsson and Motorola, who have outlined in their respective blog posts the path from code to getting a fully baked ROM pushed out over the air to handsets. The two posts describe the process as we've understood it for a while now, and with Android 4.0 things don't seem any different. Google works with a specific OEM and SoC vendor around some chosen reference hardware (in this case Galaxy Nexus), and simultaneously (or close to it) releases the source code and device when things are finished.
At that point, SoC vendors begin working on their own ports and build in necessary drivers or optimizations of their own. That software package then is turned over to OEMs who add their own specific software (in the case of Motorola, for example - MotoCast, Smart Actions, and likely Blur) and make necessary tweaks to accommodate individual carrier equirements and device nuances. After the OEM finishes up its own testing, the update then passes over to carriers for their own testing, and here things have been a bit fuzzy. Motorola gives out an interesting tidbit today in their post, oting that while each carrier is different, the testing period is on the order of months:
Each carrier has different requirements for phases 2 and 3. There may be a two-month preparation cycle to enter a carrier lab cycle of one to three months.
Sony Ericsson also notes that this certification and testing phase is the longest in the process:
The Certification and approval phase that is the most time consuming process when it comes to getting a new software release out on our phones. This is one of the major tasks that are legally required from us as phone manufacturer, but is a task that the custom ROM community doesn’t have to take into consideration.
Motorola has noted as well that the Droid RAZR, Bionic, and Xoom are all guaranteed to get an ICS port before the second half of 2012, and the list of Motorola devices being upgraded to 4.0 will likely grow. Meanwhile Sony Ericsson noted that the entire 2011 Xperia family will receive an update to 4.0 and that dates will come later.(anandtech.com)
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)