With all the patent drama going on between Apple and Samsung, it might be easy to forget that Apple is also battling Motorola on the same front. Cupertino's latest move is to ask for a stay until Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility is complete.
Specifically, Apple wants the court to stay two of its several cases against Motorola—one in Florida and another in Wisconsin—because the Google acquisition has resulted in "a fundamental loss of Motorola's patent rights," according to patent blogger Florian Mueller.
If the Google deal goes through, Apple argues, Motorola will be "severely restricted in its ability to enforce its patents and negotiate settlements," Mueller wrote in a blog post. "Therefore, Apple's lawyers argue that [Motorola] currently lacks standing (meaning the right to sue)."
Basically, Apple is arguing that it should not have to spend all its time and effort fighting a company that might not have the rights to these patents in the near future. "Under the merger agreement, Motorola allegedly ceded control over its patents and can't really litigate or settle," Mueller said.
Apple's argument, however, is likely just convenient. "Note that Apple's lawyers simply seek to capitalize on Google's and [Motorola's] own statements, knowing that Google and [Motorola] can't contradict them. Nowhere do they say that [Motorola's] patents are strong enough to serve the stated goal of protecting the Android ecosystem: this is just about the official motivation," Mueller continued. "In connection with motions to stay patent cases, the patent-centric rationale provided by the parties for the deal simply comes in handy, regardless of what Apple's management may truly think of those patents."
Furthermore, Mueller speculates that Google acquired Motorola when it did in order to get in there before Motorola negotiated patent licensing deals with Apple, Motorola, or anyone else. "A formal capitulation by [Motorola]—in the form of taking a royalty-bearing license—would have been a disaster for Android at large, presumably resulting in each and every other Android company also recognizing a need to take such a license," he said.
Google can't actually step in until the deal is closed, but Mueller said the search engine giant likely wants to be at the table. The Wisconsin case currently has a trial date of April 30, 2012 while the Florida case is set for August 13, 2012.
Motorola first sued Apple for patent infringement in October over Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Apple countersued several weeks later, saying that Motorola multi-touch smartphones use Apple-owned intellectual property. The case is now pending in several state district courts, as well as at the International Trade Commission. Recently it was revealed that Apple's patent complaint against Samsung in Germany includes a little nugget that says Cupertino also sued Motorola over the design over its Xoom tablet.
Motorola, meanwhile, recently released its long awaited Droid Bionic smartphone for Verizon. For more, see PCMag's full review of the Bionic and the slideshow below.