Apple held talks with Motorola Mobility at the end 2011 on a potential cross-licensing settlement to end a dispute over smartphone patents, according to a European Union document — as reported by “Bloomberg” (http://macte.ch/pSRDQ).
The two companies had discussions in late 2011 to license each others’ patents “possibly to the benefit of all Android” smartphone manufacturers, according to the document (http://macte.ch/lboft) on the EU’s website, referring to Google’s operating system for smartphones and tablets. The companies “also discussed the scope of any potential settlement” after Google completes its US$12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility.
This is part of an ongoing battle between the two companies. Apple has previously alleged that Motorola infringes 24 of its patents (21 of them with Android-based phones, the remaining three with set-top boxes and DVRs), while Motorola previously asserted 18 patents against a variety of Apple products (mostly but not exclusively iPhone, iPad and iPod). Litigation between the two companies has taken place in several different federal courts.
In November 2010 Apple sued Motorola, alleging that the company’s smartphone lineup and the operating software it uses infringe on the iPhone-maker’s intellectual property. The two lawsuits came after Motorola sued Apple in October 2010 for patent infringement. Motorola claims that Apple’s iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and certain Mac computers infringe Motorola patents.
