10.06.12
Patents Can Drive Apple and Microsoft Away From Litigation Tactics
Summary: Backers of Android successfully fight back against the duopoly (Apple and Microsoft), which in turn uses FRAND smears to just act like a victim rather than an oppressor
THE Android defence in the face of Apple’s patent aggression has usually been based on the claim that Apple’s patents are not novel (prior art exists) or that Apple too violates patents — patents owned by the defender. Well, that is where counter-suing comes into play (deterrence).
A ban against the successful Android tablets has been lifted by the now-controversial Judge Koh [1, 2] and it is said that Apple may owe Samsung money, proving again that deterrence might be effective. Pamela Jones writes: “Judge Lucy Koh has dissolved the preliminary injunctions against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 saying that the sole basis for it was the Court’s finding that Samsung likely infringed Apple’s D’889 patent, but the jury has found otherwise. ”
This did not come out of nowhere. It happened following a request that Jones has been tracking. Others weighed in as well.
Apple is clearly getting angry at Samsung, its own supplier. HTC seems to be following similar footsteps [1, 2] where patents are being used against Apple’s patents. HTC was Apple’s first victim and Eric Schmidt gets personally involved. As one news site put it last month, “Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt on Thursday criticised raging patent disputes in the global mobile industry, warning that they stifled innovation and reduced consumer choice.”
It is claimed that Google and Samsung are working on the patent issue together, with Schmidt getting personally involved.
Larry Page, the CEO of Google, is also participating in the battle against patent aggression and Pamela Jones looks at Google’s own case to defend from Microsoft extortion. She writes: “A lot of you have been asking questions about Friday’s decision [PDF] in Microsoft v. Motorola by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Motorola lost its appeal of the district court’s decision that it can’t enforce currently the German permanent injunction it won against Microsoft for infringing Motorola’s patents. Of course, after the trial in Washington State, it can appeal again then, ot it can ask for reconsideration and for en banc review, but for now, that door is closed by this decision.”
Motorola, as far as this division goes, is part of Google now. This makes it the common target of Microsoft FUDMeisters like Florian Müller and the judge who sought to address the FUD epidemic changes course: “So, after thinking about this all day, here’s what I think it means. I think it is significant that he mentions this in connection with Google’s request for a new trial or JMOL. That is the context of the judge’s request for a list of any paid bloggers or commenters on the trial. I infer therefore that somebody put an ugly bee in his bonnet, and now he has learned that it was false. And ugly. That’s the thing about smear campaigns. A lot of people will believe there must be something to them, even when there isn’t a wisp of truth to the smears. Google is the target of a smear campaign, without a doubt in my mind. And the funny part is the judge is saying that it didn’t influence him at all. That makes me smile. ”
“Apple has been on Microsoft’s side for years; they share an enemy called Android.”One common smear against Motorola is FRAND and Jones explains why it is nonsense: “There was a hearing in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on September 11th that centered on Microsoft and Motorola’s dispute over Motorola’s standards-essential patents that Microsoft uses but so far has refused to pay a penny for. And that gives us an opportunity to look a little more closely at what I have now decided to nickname the Microsoft Standards Patents Shell Game. Apple is holding hands with Microsoft and singing the same tune, as we noticed the other day.”
The latest news says that Motorola won against Microsoft in Germany, marginalising Microsoft’s attack over there.
Apple has been on Microsoft’s side for years; they share an enemy called Android.
It is worth adding that Xamarin, especially after getting money from sources close to Microsoft, pollutes Android with proprietary Mono software. The idea is to make new apps dependent on Microsoft patent trap. Their business model goes like this: “Customers with update subscriptions can download MonoTouch and Mono for Android via their Xamarin Store accounts. Trial versions are also available, but apps created using these versions are limited to only running in emulators, not on actual hardware.”
Android’s last adoption barrier is patents, especially the patent attacks from Apple and Microsoft. █
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