The
face-off between software giant Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and
internet search colossus Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) hotted up on Friday with
Microsoft winning its third patent lawsuit win against
Google’s Motorola Mobility unit after a Mannheim court ruled that Motorola had
infringed on the software firm’s patent for File Allocation Table or FAT and
ordered it to pay half the costs.
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Patent Wars Between Large Tech Companies
The ruling by Judge Voss of the Mannheim Regional Court follows
close on the heels of Microsoft winning
an injunction against Motorola products earlier in May, related to short
messaging service, in a German court. The result of this ruling will be that
Google will either have to license its patents or stop using the FAT technology
altogether. Motorola will have to recall the offending products from sale in
Germany and will also be liable to pay damages.
Microsoft had sued Motorola
for infringement of patent on products including the Razr, Razr Maxx and Atrix
smartphones. Incidentally Motorola is the only
major Android device maker that has not signed a licensing agreement with
Microsoft. Samsung, HTC and even some of the smaller mobile companies have done
so, ensuring that they cannot be sued by the software giant.
"We will continue to enforce injunctions
against Motorola Mobility products in [the U.S. and Germany] and hope they will
join other Android device makers by taking a license to Microsoft's patented
inventions," said David Howard, corporate vice president and deputy
general counsel for Microsoft, in a statement.
From the point of view of users, this injunction
if enforced will make it less convenient for them to download photos to their
computers and mobile devices.
The current injunction is just one outcome in a
string of legal disputes between Microsoft and Motorola, being fought in German
and U.S. courts.
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