Motorola sued over mobile patents

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7 October 2011 Last updated at 09:53 GMT Google's backing of a firm is suing acquisition target Motorola is an "own goal" say experts Motorola is being sued in a patent row by a company partly bankrolled by Google - which wants to buy Motorola.

Intellectual Ventures is taking legal action over six patents, all of which are used in Android smartphones produced by Motorola.

The lawsuit has been filed, said Intellectual Ventures, after talks over a licensing deal broke down.

Patent experts said the case was "concerning" and cast doubt on Google's ability to defend Android partners.

Intellectual Ventures, set up by Microsoft's former chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold, has built up much of its pool of about 35,000 patents by buying intellectual property from inventors. It then generates money for investors by signing licensing deals with hi-tech firms that use the patented technologies.

The company has accused Motorola Mobility of using its technology to perform file transfers, updates and remote data management and other functions on some of its smartphones.

In a statement, Intellectual Ventures said it had been in discussion with Motorola since January 2011 but the talks had failed to produce an agreement.

"We have a responsibility to our current customers and our investors to defend our intellectual property rights against companies such as Motorola Mobility who use them without a license," it said. It is now seeking a trial and unspecified damages.

Ironically, a separate licensing deal negotiated in late 2010 revealed that Google was one of dozens of firms that put cash into Intellectual Ventures' investment funds.

This is not the same fund that is being used to take legal action against Motorola, but one expert said the case raised questions about Google's ability to help its partners.

Patent expert Florian Mueller said Google's backing of Intellectual Ventures was an "own goal" and said that its failure to defend Android partners was "inexcusable".

This failure was particularly acute in the case of Motorola Mobility, he said, as in mid-August Google put down a $12.5bn (£8bn) bid to acquire it.

Neither Motorola Mobility nor Google has commented on the case.

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Motorola Faces New Lawsuit

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Patent licensing company Intellectual Ventures has set its sights on Motorola with a new lawsuit charging the handset maker with infringing six patents.

The patents cover a wide range of technologies related to text messaging, docking stations and pushing software out to devices.

Intellectual Ventures, which owns 35,000 patents, said it approached Motorola in January about licensing patents, including several named in the case, according to the lawsuit. Motorola refused to license the patents, Intellectual Ventures said.

Motorola, which is the subject of several other patent lawsuits, declined to comment on the dispute.

The suit names a number of Motorola products as infringing, including the Atrix, Photon 4G, Milestone, Triumph and Brute i680.

Though Intellectual Ventures said it first approached Motorola in January, records at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that all but one of the patents were transferred to the company in July and September.

It's up to patent holders to file documents showing transfer of ownership with the patent office, so the discrepancy of timing probably means only that the company was slow in doing its paperwork, said David Mixon, a patent attorney with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP.

While patent lawsuits have become commonplace in the mobile industry, this one has a unique twist. Google, which recently announced plans to acquire Motorola, is an investor in Intellectual Ventures, patent expert Florian Mueller noted in a blog post Thursday.

That doesn't make Google fully responsible for the suit against Motorola. Intellectual Ventures operates like a group of companies, and Google did not invest in the arm that filed the lawsuit, Mueller wrote. However, Google's investment lent legitimacy to a company whose lawsuit now targets Android, a Google creation. Mueller concluded that, as an investor, "Google played a key role in turning IV into what it is and it should never give money to... any company setting up patent funds without taking care of the Android ecosystem at large."

Nancy Gohring covers mobile phones and cloud computing for The IDG News Service. Follow Nancy on Twitter at @idgnancy. Nancy's e-mail address is Nancy_Gohring@idg.com

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Motorola Gesichter neue Klage

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Patent Lizenzierung Unternehmen Intellectual Ventures setzt seinen Sehenswürdigkeiten auf Motorola mit einer neuen Klage, laden den Handy-Hersteller mit sechs Patente verletzen.

Die Patente decken ein breites Spektrum von Technologien im Zusammenhang mit Text messaging, docking-Stationen und verdrängten von Software an Geräte.

Geistige Ventures, die 35.000 Patente besitzt, sagte es Motorola im Januar näherte, zur Lizenzierung von Patenten, einschließlich mehrerer Namen in den Fall entsprechend den Prozess. Motorola weigerte sich, die Patente lizenzieren, sagte Intellectual Ventures.

Motorola, die Gegenstand von mehreren anderen Patentrechtsklagen ist, lehnte eine Stellungnahme über den Konflikt.

Der Anzug nennt eine Reihe von Motorola Produkten als verletzen, einschließlich der Atrix, Photon 4 G, Meilenstein, Triumph und Brute-i680.

Obwohl Intellectual Ventures sagte, es zuerst Motorola im Januar näherte, Datensätze in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office zeigen, dass alle, aber eine der Patente auf das Unternehmen übertragen wurden, im Juli und September.

Es ist bis zu Patentinhabern Datei Dokumente, die Übertragung des Eigentums mit dem Patentamt, anzeigen, so dass die Diskrepanz des Timings wahrscheinlich nur, dass bedeutet das Unternehmen langsam dabei die Schreibarbeit, war gesagt David Mixon, Patentanwalt mit Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP.

Während Patentprozesse geworden in der Branche üblich, dieser hat einer einzigartigen Wendung. Google, die vor kurzem angekündigt, Motorola zu erwerben, ist ein Investor in Intellectual Ventures, patent Experten Florian Müller in einen Blog-Post Donnerstag festgestellt.

Google machen nicht voll verantwortlich für die Klage gegen Motorola. Geistige Ventures verhält sich wie eine Gruppe von Unternehmen, und Google investiert die Gruppe nicht in den Arm, der die Klage, eingereicht Müller schrieb. Googles Investitionen verliehen jedoch Legitimität zu einem Unternehmen, dessen Klage jetzt Android, eine Google-Schöpfung zielt. Mueller Schluss, als Investor, "Google spielte eine Schlüsselrolle bei der Umsetzung von IV in was es ist und es sollte nie Geld... jeder Firma einrichten patent Mittel ohne kümmert sich um die Android Ökosystems insgesamt."

Nancy Göhring umfasst Mobiltelefone und Cloud-computing für die IDG News Service. Folgen Sie Nancy auf Twitter bei @ Idgnancy. Nancys E-mail-Adresse ist Nancy_Gohring@idg.com

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