Mobile phone manufacturer Motorola Mobility is seeking a ban on the import of Apple devices to the US, claiming that some features on the tech giant’s devices infringe its patents.
The company has filed a suit with the US International Trade Commission (ITC), claiming Apple has infringed seven of its patents, including email notification, the Siri voice recognition programme, phone/video players and location reminders.
This is the second patent infringement case Motorola Mobility, which was recently acquired by Google, has filed against Apple. A ruling expected on the first case on 24 August and, if made in Motorola’s favour, it could see a US import ban imposed on the iPhone. However, the second suit goes even further, encompassing the iPad and Mac computers as well.
In a statement issued to IT Pro, Motorola said: “We would like to settle these patent matters, but Apple’s unwillingness to work out a license leaves us little choice but to defend ourselves and our engineers’ innovations.”
Apple had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
The latest suit is just one of many patent infringement cases currently making their way through
court. Apple is currently suing Samsung, also via the US ITC, for infringing a number of its patents with regard to the Korean firm’s Android smartphones. In turn, Samsung is suing Apple for infringing its wireless technology patents.
Kathleen Fox Murphy, a specialist technology patent lawyer at Taylor Wessing told IT Pro: “Competition in the smartphone market is fierce, particularly with different smartphone companies offering phones with similar features. Patent infringement actions where injunctions are possible are useful in the fight for market share.
“Bringing an action before the US ITC in an attempt [to] obtain a ban on US imports is a common tactic in the smartphone wars. Whether or not a company is successful in obtaining a ban will depend on the facts of a particular case.”
