“Apple Inc. is fighting a multi-front patent war against competing makers of mobile devices, demanding injunctions that would block sales of their products. But the company has also indicated a willingness to cut deals with competitors, according to people familiar with the matter,” Ian Sherr reports for Dow Jones Newswires.
“The consumer-electronics company has put forth proposals to Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. to settle some pending litigation in exchange for royalty payments to license its patents, among other terms, these people said,” Sherr reports. “This is not a new tactic; Apple had some discussions with companies such as Samsung before initiating litigation, according to statements made to a court in at least one suit. Apple isn’t attempting to offer patent licenses to all its competitors or create a royalty business, one person familiar with the matter said.”
MacDailyNews Note: See: Apple licensed iOS scrolling patent to Nokia and IBM, offered license to Samsung – December 4, 2011
“However, some people familiar with the situation see more reason for Apple to consider legal settlements,” Sherr reports. “One factor is that Android has proliferated so widely that shutting the software out of the market using injunctions is no longer practical, one of the people said. Licensing is an alternative that could add cost to Android development and make it less appealing for manufacturers. Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., has asked for between $5 and $15 per handset for some of its patents in one negotiation, or roughly 1% to 2.5% of net sales per device, another person familiar with the matter said. Motorola, for its part, has been criticized for asking for 2.5% of net sales per device for its wireless patents from Apple.”
MacDailyNews Take: Motorola Mobility’s are FRAND patents. Sherr should have pointed that out directly. A reporter interested in conveying the full truth would have done so. FRAND patents do not command 2.5% royalties, especially when the technology is already licensed by Apple from Qualcomm.
“None of the people could confirm if settlement talks are currently taking place, but say this is part of an ongoing process,” Sherr continues, “Any offer to license patents would seem to oppose statements from co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in October.”
MacDailyNews Take: If you can’t kill it with injunctions, you can price it out of existence. Jobs certainly understood that.
Sherr repots, “The company told an Australian court last year that Jobs had begun discussions with Samsung in the summer of 2010, in part because of the close relationship between the companies. But those talks broke down when Samsung released its first Android- based tablet, the Galaxy Tab, in the fall of 2010.”
MacDailyNews Take: Which was basically a total iPad knockoff except for the inferior OS, watered-down third-party software, anemic ecosystem, and malware problems.
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again: If you can’t kill it with injunctions, you can price it out of existence. Dead is dead, no matter how it was killed.
Related articles:
Google ordered by judge to give Apple information on Android development – March 5, 2012
Microsoft joins Apple in FRAND patent fight in EU against Motorola Mobility – February 22, 2012
Apple sues Motorola Mobility over Qualcomm license – February 10, 2012
Apple asked standards body to set rules for essential FRAND patents – February 8, 2012
EU launches full-blown investigation of Samsung’s suspected abuse of FRAND-pledged patents; Motorola on notice – January 31, 2012
Apple licensed iOS scrolling patent to Nokia and IBM, offered license to Samsung – December 4, 2011