Motorola asks the ITC to prohibit sales of Apple iPhone, iPad, iTouch, and certain Mac computers that it claims infringe its patents.
By Suzanne Deffree, Managing editor, news -- EDN, October 7, 2010
Motorola Inc subsidiary Motorola Mobility is claiming that Apple Inc's iPhone, iPad, iTouch, and certain Mac computers infringe Motorola patents.
The company filed three separate complaints this week with the US International Trade Commission (ITC), the Northern District of Illinois, and the Southern District of Florida.
The three complaints include 18 patents related to "early-stage innovations" developed by Motorola in key technology areas found on many of Apple's core products and associated services, including MobileMe and the App Store, the company claimed.
Motorola did not give specific patent numbers in its statement, but said the patents include wireless communication technologies, such as WCDMA, GPRS, 802.11, and antenna design, and smartphone technologies including wireless e-mail, proximity sensing, software application management, location-based services, and multi-device synchronization.
Motorola Mobility has requested that the ITC commence an investigation into Apple's use of Motorola's patents and, among other things, bar Apple's importation of the allegedly infringing products, prohibiting further sales of such products that have already been imported, and halting the marketing, advertising, demonstration, and warehousing of inventory for distribution and use of such imported products in the United States.
In the District Court actions, Motorola Mobility has requested that Apple cease using what Motorola claims to be patented technology and provide compensation for Apple's past so-claimed infringement.
"Motorola has innovated and patented throughout every cycle of the telecommunications industry evolution, from Motorola's invention of the cell phone to its development of premier smartphone products," Kirk Dailey, corporate vice president of intellectual property at Motorola Mobility, said in the statement. "We have extensively licensed our industry-leading intellectual property portfolio, consisting of tens of thousands of patents in the U.S. and worldwide. After Apple's late entry into the telecommunications market, we engaged in lengthy negotiations, but Apple has refused to take a license. We had no choice but to file these complaints to halt Apple's continued infringement. Motorola will continue to take all necessary steps to protect its R&D and intellectual property, which are critical to the company's business."
Apple did not immediately reply to request for comment on the Motorola claims.
Motorola is not the only mobile player to call out Apple in a courtroom. Handset makers Nokia and HTC have also filed separate complaints against Apple, claiming patent infringement in its popular consumer products. Nokia in May took legal action against Apple, claiming that Apple iPhone and iPad 3G products infringe five of its patents. In HTC's effort, also filed in May, the Taiwan-based company asked the ITC to stop iPad, iPhone, and iPod sales in US on patent infringement complaints. HTC's filing followed a March complaint from Apple that the company infringed 20 patents related to the Apple iPhone user interface, underlying architecture and hardware.
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