Google's Motorola Mobility division filed a patent lawsuit against Apple with the US International Trade Commission last Friday, with the intention to block iPhone, iPad, and Mac sales in the U.S.
Though very few details were known about the case last week, the ITC published the full complaint on their website for public consumption.
All seven of the patents Motorola claims Apple is infringing upon are detailed, and based on the statements Motorola included with their filing, the Google-owned company believes it's actually in the public's best interests to ban the import of Apple's products.
This latest litigation is only the latest salvo in the lengthy battle between Apple and Motorola, which has previously garnered both sides some small victories.
The rundown
According to the paperwork, Motorola's claims target Apple devices "which utilize wireless communication technologies to manage various messages and content."
That long list includes the iPod Touch, all iPhones, including the iPhone 4S, the iPad 2 and new iPad, as well as MacBook Pros and MacBook Air, and the Mac Pro, iMac, and Mac mini.
All of those products supposedly utilize all or portions of the following Motorola patents: 5,883,580; 5,922,047; 6,425,002; 6,983,370; 6,493,673; 7,007,064 and 7,383,983.
Those patents include such features as "messaging devices that process messages logically for a user in the context of space and time" (580), "control over a plurality of media applications including telephony, video conferencing, analog video, digital video, and AC power line signaling" (047), "the ability to sync the messaging capabilities of multiple devices" (370), and "a system and method for pausing content in one device and resuming playback of the content in another device" (983).
What happens next?
Both Apple and Motorola continue to bicker back and forth over who is infringing on which patents.
In this latest ordeal, Motorola requested a target date 15 months from now, meaning we'll have a lot of proceedings to cover over the course of the next year and beyond.
With an ITC ruling due by the end of this week regarding Apple's previous infringement on a Motorola patent, there's already a chance an unfortunate precedent could be set for iOS devices.
Apple's rumored iPhone 5 is supposed to be unveiled September 12, and a ban on such a device would certainly impact not just Apple, but mobile providers anticipating a sales spike, as well.
Whether this case has more merit for a ban on Apple's products in unclear as of yet, but we'll monitor further developments closely to see how the future of mobile devices in the U.S. is affected by the ITC's rulings.
Via TechCrunch, Scribd
