The US International Trade Commission, after making an order against Motorola Mobility smartphones for infringing on a Microsoft patent and banning its ingress to the United States, has sent it to President Obama, who will have 2 months to consider its fate.
The ITC, being a standard venue for patent litigation as it has the authority to prohibit the importation of goods that trespass patents, is the scene of this legal battle, one among the many others between top smartphone producers. Google’s Android system is leading the smartphone operating system market in front of Apple, Microsoft, Research in Motion and the rest.
Buy the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx starting at $169.
U.S. customs earlier this week held back some HTC smartphones as the company lost a patent fight in December to Apple at the ITC and this has resulted in a fall in its shares by 6 percent. The Atrix, Backflip, Bravo, Charm, Cliq, Cliq 2, Cliq XT, Defy, Devour, Droid 2, Droid 2 Global, Droid Pro, Droid X, Droid X2, Flipout, Flipside, Spice and the Xoom tablet are some of the Motorola phones that Microsoft wants banned and stopped at the U.S. border.
The patented technology in dispute allows users to create meeting invites and schedule gatherings through their mobile devices. Motorola Mobility, in the middle of being taken over by Google, can take the simple road and remove the technology from the stated phones or get it licensed from Microsoft. Analysts predict that Motorola will in all likelihood agree to a licensing deal with Microsoft to get its products out of the door quickly, but recent reports suggest that the company might just choose to modify its software as HTC plans to do.
The company stated by email that they are a little dismayed by the ruling but are going to consider all viable options including an appeal. On the other hand, Microsoft were in favour of the decision, hoping that Motorola joins the many other Android device producers that have taken a license for the company’s above mentioned patent.
Google’s Android software has lately become the most popular mobile phone operating system with 56 percent of the market in the first quarter of 2012, according to data from Gartner Inc. while Motorola is one of its minor manufacturers with 8.4 million devices retailed in the same period.
Thankfully the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx is not one of the smartphones under fire, and is currently available starting at $169 at select Verizon authorized retailers, which is a savings of $40 over the Verizon direct pricing. Buy the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx starting at $169.
