The US patent suit between Motorola and Microsoft wrapped up last month, but today Motorola was dealt a pretty serious blow by federal Judge James Robart. Robart denied Motorola’s request for an injunction on Microsoft products today, which of course means that Microsoft can continue selling the allegedly infringing products here in the US. That isn’t the best sign for Google, which shelled out billions of dollars to buy Motorola, partly so it could have access to the company’s massive patent portfolio.
There were a couple of reasons Robart denied the injunction request, it seems. First and foremost, Microsoft has already agreed to pay a licensing fee for the standard-essential patents at the center of this case. Since Microsoft and Motorola both agree that fees should be paid, there’s no real reason for Robart to ban the sale of Microsoft products in the country.
Another reason Robart denied the injunction request is because Motorola hasn’t proven that it’s been “irreparably harmed,” by Microsoft’s infringement. If they company was able to prove such a claim, that may have changed things. Instead, Motorola now suffers a setback in not getting the injunction it wanted.
Now our sights turn to Robart’s decision – Motorola and Microsoft have been in disagreement over how much Microsoft should pay in fees. Microsoft says Motorola tried to charge too much for access to its standard-essential patents, which will ultimately come down to Robart’s call. We’ll see soon enough, as Robart is expected to deliver his verdict in January. Stay tuned.
[via Wall Street Journal]
