US judge dismisses Apple’s patent lawsuit against Google’s Motorola Mobility

06 Nov 2012

A US judge yesterday threw out Apple's lawsuit against Google's Motorola Mobility subsidiary for claiming exorbitant licencing fees for essential patents, in another setback for the maker  of  iPhone and iPad in its global smartphone patent battles with rivals.

Cupertino-based, Apple, the world's most valuable company, had filed a lawsuit last year alleging that Motorola Mobility was demanding high licencing fees for some of its so-called standard essential patents.

Some essential patents fall under the category called Frand or ''fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory'', and these patents has to be licenced by its owner to rivals at a reasonable and non-discriminatory rate in line with industry standards.

Apple alleges that Google, which acquired Motorola Mobility along with its portfolio of patents for $12.5 billion in 2011, was seeking a licensing fee of 2.25 per cent royalty on sales of its devices like the iPhone and iPod touch for using Motorola Mobility's patented Wi-Fi and video technology.

Apple claims that Motorola's licensing practices were unfair and the 2.25 per cent royalty is exorbitant.

Although US District Court Judge Barbara Crabb sided with Apple on the FRAND status of the Motorola Wi-Fi and video technology and said she may decide on a fair royalty price, she threw out the case after Apple argued that it would not be bound by her decision if the rate exceeded $1 per device.