Apple appeals dismissed Motorola Mobile FRAND trial
updated 07:00 pm EST, Fri January 4, 2013
Renewal of suit plus FTC order prevent Google from seeking relief
With a goal of resurrecting its dispute with Motorola Mobile, Apple has filed an appeal of the dismissal of its standards-essential patents suit with the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The appeal comes after this week's Federal Trade Commission consent order with Google, prohibiting the search engine from seeking or enforcing injunctive relief as long as any standards-essential rate-setting action is pending in court.
A bench trial was scheduled to start on November 5, but was cancelled by Judge Barbara Crabb after Apple declared that it would take a license on court-determined terms only if the rate was not going to exceed $1 per device, or alternatively, if the court was going to also set a rate that Google would have to pay for Apple's standards-essential patents in accordance with negotiated rates for Apple payments to Google.
Patent analyst Florian Mueller believes that "Apple's appeal could also re-raise its antitrust claims that Judge Crabb dismissed on summary judgment in August 2012. The FTC's settlement with Google does not preclude private parties, Apple in this case, from antitrust litigation over the same issues." It is unknown if Apple is going to pursue antitrust claims with a separate appeal.
