Apple hopes to have better luck against rival company Motorola Mobility in the many patent lawsuits that the two companies are expected to lock horns over in the future. In fact, the next one isn’t far away amidst the panic of Apple having to remove products from its online store. The products in question here are the ones using Qualcomm’s broadband chip, which governs the protocols for 3G and 4G connectivity, implying that the iPhone 4S, the iPad (with 4G) and also the yet to be released iPhone 5 are all under the scanner. Apple, in an attempt to prevent this from happening had taken Google owned Motorola Mobility to court in order to justify its position as a third party beneficiary of the license agreement, giving it the power to use some of Qualcomm’s patents.
The first instance of the patent litigation happened in February in the Southern district of California. Apple fought for an injunction as well as a ruling from the judge against Motorola. At the same time, Motorola had won a German court order, which forced Apple to remove some of its 3G compatible devices from its stores in the country. However Apple won the suit in South Carolina, obtaining a temporary stay on the removal of its products from its German online store. The stay was even lengthened to cover the entire appeal’s process. Motorola challenged the court’s decision which saw the company’s case tossed out of the court by Judge Dana M Sabraw. She gave Apple until Friday to re-file and even guided the company on how to get the filing to stay if the company decided to re-file. Apple obliged with the Judge’s advice and re-filed on Friday.
Motorola has set its sights on iPhone 4S for legal action in the future. Apple’s second amended complaint quotes Motorola’s statement that the Google owned company hasn’t challenged the iPhone 4S yet, because of “tactical reasons” which the company’s not willing to share with Apple just yet. If in case Apple’s filing in California results in a decision that bars Motorola from suing Apple over Qualcomm’s broadband patents, then Google may decide to go on the offensive by filing a case against Apple’s iPhone 4S. This lawsuit would obviously see Google suing Apple’s trademark phone over infringement of 3G connectivity patents. Google could also extend the case to other devices that implement Qualcomm’s chips. However, if Apple prevails, the aforementioned products will not get tossed out of its online store and Google will be forced to settle for a lower licensing fee.
