Apple countersuit says Motorola abusing touch tech

Apple late Friday responded to Motorola's lawsuit by filing two countersuits of its own. The complaints accuse Motorola of violating six patents primarily relating to multi-touch but also to graphical interfaces. Most of Motorola's currently shipping Android-based devices are covered, including the Droid, Droid 2 and Droid X, as well as the Backflip, Charm, Cliq, Cliq XT, Devour and i1.

In pursuing its cases, Apple is hoping to both get a permanent injunction against Motorola and an unspecified amount of damages.

The lawsuits from both sides came after a fallout in negotiations over patent licensing. Apple has repeatedly publicized that it has over 200 patents relating to multi-touch and has argued that other implementations such as HTC's are also copying its technology. While HTC has primarily focused on dismissing the Apple case outright, Motorola has contended that Apple is trying to wage a proxy war against Google to curb Android's growth through hurting its hardware partners.

Apple is now embroiled in multiple often two-directional lawsuits with other phone manufacturers, including Nokia. Some of the cases include separate actions through the US International Trade Commission to bring in the risk of a ban. Typically, such suits result in settlements or royalty deals to avoid a full penalty.

By Electronista Staff