JURIST - Paper Chase: Federal judge questions Apple's request for injunction against Motorola

[JURIST] A federal judge on Wednesday expressed his doubts about a requested injunction against Google Inc's Motorola Mobility unit [corporate website] that would have a significant effect on the company. At the beginning of the trial between Apple [corporate website] and Motorola, Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit, who is sitting in as a trial judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois [official website], also questioned the current patent system that values software patents too highly. He also added that no one has the absolute right to exclude others based solely on patent ownership. Apple has sought an injunction against some of Motorola's phones, alleging that the company infringed upon its patents. Posner revived [JURIST report] the case between the two rivals last week granting [order] a request from Apple to hear its patent infringement case against Motorola. He had tentatively dismissed [JURIST report] Apple's patent infringement lawsuit reasoning that allowing the company to proceed would be contrary to public interest. The judge has continuously expressed his frustration about both parties' unclear arguments.

In February, Apple filed a suit [JURIST report] against Motorola in the US District Court for the Southern District of California [official website] seeking an injunction to stop the company from bringing patent claims against Apple in Germany. Apple had brought [JURIST report] two separate lawsuits against Motorola in October of last year alleging that several of Motorola's products infringe six patents owned by Apple.