JURIST - Paper Chase: Microsoft, Motorola agree to suspend patent disputes pending licensing trial

[JURIST] Microsoft Inc. and Motorola [corporate websites] on Tuesday filed a joint motion in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington [official website] asking the court to suspend three patent cases between the parties until a trial is held on a licensing disagreement. Microsoft filed suit against Motorola, which is now owned by Google [corporate website] in 2010, complaining that Motorola failed to license them certain video and Wi-Fi technology on reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms. The companies asked the court [IDG News Service report] to suspend patent disputes until the completion of the RAND case, including a possible appeal, so that the two can focus their legal resources on one issue.

In May, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) concluded its investigation [JURIST report] into a complaint that a number of Motorola mobile phones infringed on several Microsoft patents. The decision affirmed the ruling of an administrative law judge in December that Microsoft had proven by a preponderance of the evidence that Motorola had in fact violated one of the several patents allegedly infringed. The decision can be appealed in federal court. In March, Microsoft announced that it would file a formal complaint [JURIST report] with the European Commission (EC) detailing alleged anticompetitive practices by Google.