“Some Motorola Mobility smartphones infringe on a Microsoft patent and will be barred from importation to the United States, a U.S. trade panel said on Friday,” Diane Bartz reports for Reuters. “The order by the U.S. International Trade Commission has been sent to President Barack Obama, who has 60 days to consider whether to overturn it for policy reasons.”
“On Wednesday, some of HTC’s smartphone models were stopped at the U.S. border because it lost a patent dispute with Apple at the ITC in December,” Bartz reports. “Shares in HTC tumbled more than 6 percent on news that shipments of the phones were being held up by U.S. customs.”
“The ITC order did not say which models of Motorola Mobility smartphone were affected but Microsoft has asked for the following devices to be stopped at the U.S. border: the Atrix, Backflip, Bravo, Charm, Cliq, Cliq 2, Cliq XT, Defy, Devour, Droid 2, Droid 2 Global, Droid Pro, Droid X, Droid X2, Flipout, Flipside, Spice and the Xoom tablet,” Bartz reports. “Microsoft said it was pleased with the decision. ‘We hope that now Motorola will be willing to join the vast majority of Android device makers selling phones in the US by taking a license to our patents,’ a company spokeswoman said via email.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
It is appalling to think that Microsoft actually receives a royalty on every android phone sold and that Apple does not. Where is the logic in that?
It’s because Apple wants Android to stop stealing their intellectual property. Microsoft doesn’t care if Google steals – they just want money for it.
You’re right. Apple mostly uses its patents to discourage and prevent copying. Microsoft mostly uses its patents to encourage and facilitate copying (and make money), through “licensing.”
It’s interesting that Google develops Android and puts it out there for free, and the hardware makers who use Android in their products end up having to license Microsoft’s patents. Google makes no direct profit from Android, but Microsoft does. Wow…
Agreed, however, in addition please consider the browser, the location tracker and the Android app-store as evidence to direct profits for Google. Perhaps not huge – earning profits.
If one “clicks an ad” or “clicks an article” or “purchases media or games” with Android – Google is earning DIRECTLY !!!!
Exactly! With Google you are the product and their advertisers are their customers.
That’s not “direct.” It’s after-sale revenue that may or may NOT happen per device sale. And Google probably makes just as much (or maybe more) profit from ad-based revenue on iOS devices. But highly customized Android installations, such as the one used by Amazon for Kindle Fire, probably results in very little revenue for Google. So it’s not profit “directly” from the sale of an Android device.
My point is not that Google does not make any money from Android. Of course there is some money being made, or Google would not do it. My point is that Microsoft IS making profit directly, per sale of Android device.
One reason Micro$soft goes for the dough is that they know they can’t do any better than Android. Windows Phones continue to be DOA. Therefore, suck in some riches off the plagiarism of others. Microsoft has not price as well as no shame.
Meanwhile, Apple set the pace and create the leading edge. Apple have pride. Apple know it’s the plagiarists who have no shame. It’s a matter of justice, so bring in the lawyers.
It ends up as a matter of different points of view. Financially, Micro$oft may well make out better in the short term. But Apple will gain in the long term by keeping slavishly copycat crap off the market, which benefits both the customers and Apple’s own superior quality device sales.
(And no kids, this isn’t even remotely monopolistic behavior. You invent it, you own it, they don’t, so kick them out of the market as plagiarists).
Hello, Moto?
Can you hear me now?
Very interesting.
The whole story is wittingly and rather accurately portrayed in Joy of Tech:
http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/1597.html
A lame, terribly simplified and horribly flawed story.
Practically lacking the slightest imagination as well.
“The Magic Ones did not wish to share with the other animals”?
Apple shared the world the devices running iOS by selling it to us. Apple wasn’t going to license or share the secrets of how it’s fire kept burning so brightly. Yet, Apple showed us we wanted it and it changed our lives.
Also, how does Bezos make “his own Fire very bright”?! That’s Amazon marketing and TechTard journalist blether. The Amazon Fire remains simply a SUBSIDIZED eBook reader with relatively MEAGRE Android capability. There are loads of FAR better Android devices on the market. If anything, Bezos’ Fire is DIMMER and DUMBER than the other critters’ fire, by design. Anyone believing otherwise has been hoodwinked and suckered. Happily, the Fire sales figures point out that most people got the clue.
TechTardiness is rampant, as usual. 😯
Sorry Nitrozac and Snaggy.
I had no idea Microsoft won a patent for ‘Sucks’….
definitely has a corner on the market!
+1
lol.