The German lawsuit, filed in April, goes after Android’s Google Map app, which Motorola spent a good amount of time yesterday denying Microsoft’s infringement accusations without ever getting into actual server process discussions. Microsoft has aggressively going after Android handset makers to agree to license agreements, including LG, Samsung and HTC. All have signed on to avoid the legal battle, which can put up to $15 per handset they sell.
Motorola has held out and had hoped that it’s acquisition by parent company Google would prevent Microsoft from taking them on – a strategy that has ultimately failed. Motorola has been forced to pull virtually all of their smartphones from retailers in Germany due to previous patent litigation with Apple and Microsoft. The move today is believed to show that the Android OS is not free and that the Windows Phone system would be a worthy alternative.
Once again Patents will force manufacturer behavior, which will end up providing the consumer with little choice in which phone they can purchase. It would be interesting if these companies would put more of the legal costs into R&D and develop the next generation phone rather than continually fight each other for positioning. The concept of the strong will survive, now appears to mean that the one with the best lawyers will survive – not the best product!
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