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Google Buys Motorola…. It’s About The Patents

Posted in Commentary with tags , on August 15, 2011 by itnerd

By now you’ve likely heard that Google bought Motorola’s cell phone business. You might think it’s about making phones. It’s not. It’s about the patents. Here’s what the Google Blog had to say:

We recently explained how companies including Microsoft and Apple are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android. The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one recent patent auction to “protect competition and innovation in the open source software community” and it is currently looking into the results of the Nortel auction. Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.

It truly sounds like Google is getting ready to go to war against Apple and Microsoft. Oh, and before you think that other handset makers like HTC would be unhappy about this… Think again:

This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences.

Whether this actually happens remains to be seen, but it’s the thought that counts. Who’s the big loser in this? In my humble opinion, RIM. This is one headache that they didn’t need.

Game on!

 

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Motorola Splits Itself In Two…I See One Half Dying

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 4, 2011 by itnerd

Motorola today split itself into two halves. The more volatile consumer cell phone business is now called Motorola Mobility. While the much more stable commercially focused radio, barcode scanner, and cellular network business is now Motorola Solutions. Both are trading as separate entities on the NYSE. Both of which were up today. So, why do I think that one half will die? When it comes to the cell phone business, Apple and to a lesser extent RIM and anyone who makes an Android phone have already shoved Motorola out of the market. Face it, the high water mark for Motorola was the flip phone. It’s been all downhill from that point onwards and is facing a slow death. The Motorola Solutions half is much more stable from a business perspective, so I think that will be around for a long time. So perhaps this is an easy way for Motorola to get rid of a business that would eventually kill it outright.

We’ll see in a year or two. But I think I’ll be right on this one.

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Motorola And Microsoft Trade More Lawsuits

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on November 13, 2010 by itnerd

This fight between Microsoft and Motorola has escalated. Earlier this week, Microsoft sued Motorola for patent infringement… Again. I say again because that happened in October:

The suit, filed in the a Seattle federal court, accuses Motorola of breaching a so-called RAND agreement for patents covering the H.264 video codec and various extensions of the 802.11 Wi-Fi technology. Both are used in the Microsoft Xbox video-game console, among other products, Microsoft said.

Motorola doesn’t seem to want to take this lying down. So they filed a couple of lawsuits of their own:

Motorola filed separate suits in both the Southern District of Florida as well as the Western District of Wisconsin, alleging that Microsoft’s products infringed at least six of Motorola’s patents.

So, I think it’s safe to assume that a quick settlement is out of question. I think it’s also safe to assume that some lawyers will be driving some new cars very shortly thanks to the money they’ll be making.

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Tit For Tat: Apple Sues Motorola For Patent Infringement

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on October 30, 2010 by itnerd

You knew this was coming after Motorola sued Apple for patent infringement earlier this month. Apple has hit back with a lawsuit of their own claiming that Motorola has infringed on six of their patents and they relate to Motorola’s use of a multi-touch interface. Products named in the lawsuit include the wildly popular Droid series of phones which have allowed Motorola to start making money again.

Next step? Years of litigation or a quick settlement. Which will it be?

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Motorola Sues Apple For Patent Infringement

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on October 6, 2010 by itnerd

I guess Motorola wants to share the lawsuit pain. The word has hit the wires that Motorola has sued Apple for infringing on 18 of their patents:

Overall, Motorola Mobility’s three complaints include 18 patents, which relate to early-stage innovations developed by Motorola in key technology areas found on many of Apple’s core products and associated services, including MobileMe and the App Store. The Motorola patents include wireless communication technologies, such as WCDMA (3G), GPRS, 802.11 and antenna design, and key smartphone technologies including wireless email, proximity sensing, software application management, location-based services and multi-device synchronization.

But wait, there’s more. Motorola has also filed complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission, seeking to prevent importation and sale of the infringing products.

Prediction: Expect Apple to countersue in the next few weeks. After all, they have to keep the iLawyers busy.

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Microsoft Sues Motorola Over Patent Infringement

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on October 3, 2010 by itnerd

Apple has been suing rival smartphone makers for some time. But I’m kind of surprised that Microsoft is getting into the game. On Friday, they filed an ITC complaint against Motorola accusing them of infringing on a number of Microsoft patents:

“Microsoft filed an action today in the International Trade Commission and in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against Motorola, Inc. for infringement of nine Microsoft patents by Motorola’s Android-based smartphones. The patents at issue relate to a range of functionality embodied in Motorola’s Android smartphone devices that are essential to the smartphone user experience, including synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.

It’s interesting to me that Microsoft like Apple before it isn’t going after Google in this lawsuit seeing as Motorola uses the Google Android OS. I’m not sure what the deal is with that. But I suspect that one of two things will happen, either this will be fought out for years in court, or they’re going to come to some sort of arrangement very quickly.

Anybody care to take bets on which one happens?

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Motorola Hits Back At Apple Over Droid X Video

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on July 28, 2010 by itnerd

If anyone was wondering what Motorola was going to do about that Droid X video that showed the phone having an antenna problem, they’ve responded. Droid Life has a picture that’s part of a new ad blitz from Motorola called “No Jacket Required” which points out that the phone doesn’t need a case to function properly. They also have this to say:

At Motorola, we believe a customer shouldn’t have to dress up their phone for it to work properly.  That’s why the DROID X comes with a dual antenna design.  The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like to make crystal clear calls without a bulky phone jacket.  For us it’s just one of those things that comes as a given when you’ve been making mobile phones for over 30 years.

Ouch. But the truth hurts I guess. Apple, it’s time to man up and fix the iPhone 4 rather than blaming others. In fact, it’s beyond time to do that.

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New Video Posted On Apple’s Antenna Performance Page… Why Won’t They Let This Die?

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on July 23, 2010 by itnerd

You have to wonder why Apple would persist in fanning the flames of “antennagate.” This time they’re taking aim at the Motorola Droid X on their spin doctoring Antenna Performance page. Here’s the video:

Is this what happens when “The Steve’s” ego is bruised? Does he behave like a five year old and blames his schoolmates for having the same problem? Perhaps he needs to grow up and just say sorry? Perhaps he should do the right thing and take ownership of the issue? Perhaps he should just fix the iPhone 4 and end this once and for all? People might actually give him some respect if he did that.

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Patent Troll Files Lawsut Against Google, Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, and Microsoft

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , , , , on July 11, 2010 by itnerd

A company called NTP who is best known for extracting $612.5 million from Research In Motion back in 2006 is at it again. They’re suing Google, Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, and Microsoft for patent infringement:

“The filing of suit today is necessary to ensure that those companies who are infringing NTP’s patents will be required to pay a licensing fee,” Mr. Stout continued.  “In view of the USPTO Board’s ruling, the debate over whether Mr. Campana was an originator in the field of wireless email is over.  No patents in U.S. history have received as much scrutiny as NTP’s patents.  We are delighted that the USPTO Board has recognized the groundbreaking innovation of Mr. Campana by confirming 67 of NTP’s patent claims.  We are also confident that the USPTO’s rejections, which are on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, will be overturned.”

The thing is NTP is generally regarded as a patent troll as they have also filed lawsuits against Palm, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless among others that make similar claims. Not to mention that their only assets are 50 or so patents that relate to wireless email and RF Antenna design. I hate companies like NTP as all they do is sit on technologies and don’t even develop them. They just wait for companies to infringe and then attack them. The result of this is that this chills innovation. I really hope that they get what’s coming to them, which would be nothing.

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RIM Sues Motorola For Blocking Job Offers To Current And Ex Motorola Employees

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on December 29, 2008 by itnerd

On Christmas Eve, Research In Motion filed suit against Motorola alleging that Moto has improperly blocked their attempts to hire current and laid-off employees. RIM is also seeking unspecified damages for what it called “unfair competition” practices by Motorola. Whatever that means.

It should be noted that the two companies had some sort of an agreement that they came to in Feb. to not steal each others employees. Moto has accused RIM of violating that agreement. But RIM has said that the agreement has expired and is no longer enforceable.

I guess RIM will be saying “Hello Moto” in front of a judge in the near future.

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