Judge Invalidates 13 Motorola Patent Claims Against Microsoft 109
walterbyrd writes "Microsoft scored a victory against Google-owned Motorola Mobility this week after a judge scrapped 13 of the latter party's patent claims in a years-long dispute over H.264-related royalties. Waged in U.S. and German courts, the battle involves three patents (7,310,374, 7,310,375, and 7,310,376) that Motorola licenses to Microsoft for several products, including the Xbox 360, Windows and Windows Phone. PJ is commenting on the case over at Groklaw.net."
Re:Christ... (Score:2, Interesting)
For Apple, and the rest of the corporate world, it's bad news, because it seems it's getting harder and harder to use patents as weapons. For all the huffing and puffing, most corporations discover their arsenal of patents, is nothing more than paper nukes.
For the consumers (and lawyers involved), it's a very very good thing. Please continue.
Microsoft undoing their own patents? (Score:5, Interesting)
Microsoft is arguing that as a 'means plus function' patent, it isn't specific enough because it doesn't specifically give an algorithm. Surely if this goes through it will invalidate the vast majority of software patents?
Re:A humble suggestion to tech companies: (Score:5, Interesting)
1a. Stop wasting money on patent based acquisitions.
This entire war was started by Apple and Microsoft setting out to block other companies from exactly the strategy the grandparent post proposed and who were exactly failing to buy patents. Microsoft's stupid FAT patents; Apple's stupid "rounded corners" design patents; patents on obvious gestures in a user interface. The companies which were trying the strategy of "just give the consumer what they want" were being sued to hell. The lawyers were making it very clear that if you attempt to opt out of the patents protection racket then their friends, the judges, will make you pay more than you can afford.
At one point, it looked as if Microsoft might honestly have frightened the device manufacturers away from Android. Spineless companies like HTC rolled over and let Microsoft tickle their tummy. Only after Google started acquiring large patent portfolios did some of those manufacturer's get a bit of guts. HTC, on the other hand, will likely never recover.
If you look at the history of this, it's very clear that Google is only succeeding by buying their way through the US legal system. It's very hard then to argue that their investment in "patent based acquisitions" was a waste of money. Just like a certain level of bribery is the cost of doing business in Russia and your people may die if you don't pay it, in the corrupt US justice system you have to be seen to be paying your protection money to the patent barons.
Re:A humble suggestion to tech companies: (Score:3, Interesting)
It's a government-uttered spell which makes the sticks sharp. If the government utters the counter-spell, the sticks stop being sharp.
Re:A humble suggestion to tech companies: (Score:2, Interesting)
Now Apple is involved in something like 60% of the patent lawsuits. There were some mobile patent disputes before Apple got involved, but it was never two manufacturers duking it out.. it was always patent holding companies (the trolls) vs a manufacturer.