War of the patents expands: Apple sues Motorola
Apple is reportedly suing not only Samsung in Germany, but also Motorola, over claims its Xoom tablet infringes Apple patents.
The patent war between smartphone and tablet giants has expanded, with Apple suing not only Samsung in the European Union, but also Motorola and tech company JAY-tech.
The news came from the blog of Florian Mueller, an intellectual property analyst who has been reporting on Apple’s lawsuit in Germany against Samsung for alleged patent infringements, which resulted in a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the entire European Union except The Netherlands.
Mr Mueller reported on FOSS Patents that Apple’s Samsung complaint to a Dusseldorf district court mentioned two other lawsuits Apple had instigated – one of which sued Motorola over its Xoom tablet’s design.
The passage is in German, but Mr Mueller said it did not state whether the complaint against Motorola included a request for a preliminary injunction.
The passage also mentions an Apple suit against JAY-tech, a German tech company, which was served with a preliminary injunction, Mr Mueller said.
“According to Apple's representations, it was upheld by the court "in its entirety" even after a hearing.”
The stand-off between Apple and Motorola began back in 2010, when Motorola sued Apple in three complaints, including 18 patents, claiming the iPhone, iPad and other products infringed Motorola’s patents, Engadget reported.
Unsurprisingly, Apple counter-sued for patent infringement but Mr Mueller said this was the first time the spat had extended outside the United States.
Also on the Western front, Apple sued HTC in 2010 for infringing on 20 patents related to the iPhone, with the suit filed in the US District Court in Delaware, a release from the company said.
Apple filed a second suit against the company in July this year claiming it had infringed on a further five patents, Digital Trends reported.
And in June, Nokia won a suit against Apple claiming the company had infringed its patents, that was filed in 2009, Bloomberg reported. Apple reached a settlement with Nokia that awarded the company a one time payment and royalties.
Alex Walls
Thu, 11 Aug 2011
Thu, 11 Aug 2011
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War of the patents expands: Apple sues Motorola
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