Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., which is being acquired by Google Inc., is seeking billions in royalties from Apple Inc.'s sales of iPhones and iPads.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Motorola filed a letter in court in California last month that it sent to Apple seeking a potential royalty of 2.25 percent of sales for some iPhones and iPads sold last year. The letter was dated Oct. 17.
That amount of royalty would be worth an estimated $1 billion based on Apple's sales of the devices last year.
If Motorola's claim is successful, Apple may have to pay royalties on its iPad and iPhone sales indirectly to its mobile technology rival, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG).
Google agreed to pay $12.5 billion to buy Motorola Mobility last August but the deal has been held up while undergoing scrutiny by federal regulators.
Written by Cromwell Schubarth. Contact him at cschubarth@bizjournals.com or 408.299.1823.
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