Posts Tagged: "motorola"

The truth is that Google bought a great deal more than patents when it acquired Motorola, though there are doubtless some real gems in the Motorola portfolio. As a relative newcomer to the wireless arena, the search giant in one bold move got its hands on the unmatched innovation experience of the longest-lived mobile phone company on earth. The technical acumen and product experience of those thousands of mobile software and hardware engineers will prove hugely valuable to Google as it seeks to dominate the $250 billion global market in smartphones, especially if it decides to become a handset maker as Motorola had been.

Most patents are obtained simply on the “refrigeration theory” as I call it. Just like if you are in food service you won’t get far without the preserving effects of refrigeration. Everything spoils unless eaten immediately. Likewise in technology; without the coverage of a patent, everything spoils unless consumed forthwith (first mover advantage). The decision is simple: if it is worth doing, i.e., putting resources into, it is worth patenting.

The final decision in the ITC case brought by Kodak is expected by May 23, 2011, after deliberation of the full ITC Commission. As we wait for the full ITC Commission decision we are left to wonder. The patent at issue relates to a technology invented by Kodak for previewing images on a digital camera-enabled device and the claims of this particular Kodak patent were recently confirmed as valid by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). So it would seem that the ITC may be poised to issue a ruling contrary to the determination of the Patent Office during reexamination proceedings.

On Wednesday, October 6, 2010, Motorola, Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Motorola Mobility, Inc., filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that Apple’s iPhone, iPad, iTouch and certain Mac computers infringe Motorola patents. Motorola Mobility also filed concurrent patent infringement complaints against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in the Northern District of Illinois (see complaint 1:10-cv-06381 and complaint 1:10-cv-06385) and the Southern District of Florida (see complaint 1:10-cv-23580-UU). The complaints filed in the two federal district courts do little other than identify the patents owned by Motorola that are believed to be infringed by Apple, specifically identifying the following Apple products that might be infringed: Apple iPhone, the Apple iPhone 3G, the Apple iPhone 3GS, the Apple iPhone 4, the Apple iPad, the Apple iPad with 3G, each generation of the Apple iPod Touch, the Apple MacBook, the Apple MacBook Pro, the Apple MacBook Air, the Apple iMac, the Apple Mac mini and the Apple Mac Pro. This type of naked patent infringement complaint has become the standard and seems to directly contradict the requirements set forth by the Supreme Court in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, which required the recitation of specific facts and prohibited mere speculation.

What Motorola should do is file a motion to dismiss with prejudice. These types of complaints are an embarrassment and must be stopped. They should simultaneously file a Declaratory Judgment Action seeking a determination of noninfringement and invalidity in a federal district court of their choosing, perhaps in Chicago, which is close to their headquarters. They will lose the motion to dismiss with prejudice in Seattle, and likely have the DJ action kicked out in Chicago, but they will have preserved the matter for appeal to the Federal Circuit. It is high time that the Federal Circuit weigh in on what is undoubtedly the biggest problem facing patent litigation defendants, which is bogus, crappy, non-informing complaints that clearly violated the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Over the weekend both Motorola and Research In Motion sued each other.  On Saturday, February 16, 2008, Motorola sued RIM in United States Federal District Court for the District of Delaware, and also filed suit against RIM in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.  I wonder if that $432 million plaintiff’s verdict against Boston Scientific had anything to do with Motorola’s decision to…