The ongoing patents wars between the major mobile players have faded from the headlines as the companies settle into a war of attrition, with no one vendor able to score a knock-out blow. The latest developments came in the Microsoft-Motorola feud and Samsung’s rows with the European Commission.
A Seattle jury awarded Microsoft $14.5m in damages after Motorola reportedly failed to license standards-essential patents on reasonable terms, another shadow over the value of Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility for $12bn, primarily for its patents portfolio.
Microsoft had argued that the refusal to license its patents on the fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (Frand) terms demanded for standards-essential IPR had forced it to move a production factory in Germany.
‘This is a landmark win for all who want products that are affordable and work well together. The jury’s verdict is the latest in a growing list of decisions by regulators and courts telling Google to stop abusing patents,’ a senior Microsoft lawyer said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Samsung may have to emulate Google in offering more concessions to European regulators, to avoid sanctions. The Korean giant has been told by the competition agency to revise its terms in order to avoid potential fines of 10% of 2012 global revenue ‘ about $18.3bn ‘ for allegedly using its standards-essential patents to gain unfair competitive advantage.