I guess Microsoft wasn’t content suing Motorola once, as the software giant is suing the hardware maker again over patents the companies hold regarding 802.11n WiFi and H.264 video compression.
Ars breaks down the suit and says that Motorola is essentially charging excessive patent fees for things related to H.264 compression and 802.11n WiFi.
Microsoft asserts that the patents are not essential to its products—including Xbox 360, Windows 7, and Windows Phone 7—as they enable only optional, secondary features, and in its filing does not accept the necessity of Motorola’s patents to the standards in question: the purpose of RAND [reasonable and nondiscriminatory] licensing is to allow companies to avoid patent controversies and endless arguments about which patents are or aren’t necessary to a particular specification and instead make reasonable, nondiscriminatory agreements covering any relevant intellectual property. However, the company says that the licensing terms that Motorola is offering for its patents are excessive and unreasonable and as such fail to meet the RAND obligation.
Microsoft is saying that Motorola is charging it based on the retail prices of its products, as opposed to the component prices where the patents would make more sense. The company wants the court to say the royalty demands are unreasonable and this is likely just a negotiating tactic to get the price of the patents down.
This one seems like a defensive lawsuit, where the mobile patent one can be seem as a more aggressive move. Microsoft is suing Motorola over patents related to Android phones and the software giant said it is just protecting its intellectual property.
Of course, many believe the move is meant to cut Android off at the knees as Windows Phone 7 comes to the market. Although Android doesn’t cost anything to use on a smartphone, handset makers are increasingly finding it to be a legal nightmare.
[Via Ars Technica, photo]
