Google settles haptic patent lawsuit with Immersion
updated 02:49 pm EST, Tue November 27, 2012
Settlement covers Google-branded, Motorola handsets only
Google has settled in a patent lawsuit with touch technology company Immersion over infringement of the latter's IP in haptic touchscreen technology. The lawsuit has taken nine months to close, and predates Google's ownership of Motorola, and has ended with the search giant licensing the patents in question, compensating for previous Motorola device shipments, and intending to pay for patent usage in smartphones developed by the company in the future.
The lawsuit, according to The Next Web, covers a total of six patents, and was filed with the district court in Delaware as well as the US ITC, which could have led to an import ban on Motorola devices if a guilty verdict was reached. Immersion CEO Victor Viegas called the settlement a "critical step in our overall strategy of enforcing and monetizing our intellectual property, including Basic Haptics."
The terms of the signed agreement allows Google-branded and Motorola smartphones to be covered by the license, but this does not extend to other manufacturers using Android, who may need to gain a license themselves. Immersion has also sued HTC over the same patent infringement claims.
An earlier version of this story stated that Samsung was also being sued by Immersion. This is incorrect and we have edited the story to reflect that. Electronista regrets the error.
