A German court has ruled that
Motorola Mobility infringed a Microsoft patent which allows long text messages
to be divided into parts and then reassembled by receiving handsets.
It marks the first patent ruling
against Google since it completed its takeover of Motorola.
Microsoft can now demand a German
sales ban of Motorola products, although it signalled it would prefer a licence
fee.
Google said it may appeal.
Google's chief executive had
previously said that his firm bought Motorola and its patents "to better
protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other
companies".
Patent wars
Microsoft and Motorola have
repeatedly clashed this month over a series of patent disputes.
Motorola won the right to order the
recall and destruction of Xbox 360 games consoles and Windows 7 system software
in Germany at the start of May.
A judge at the International Trade
Commission (ITC) subsequently recommended there should also be a Xbox import
and sales ban in the US.
However, another Seattle judge has
ordered Motorola to hold off from enforcing any such bans until it ruled on a
related complaint.
Microsoft won a separate patent
victory against Motorola earlier this month when the ITC ruled that the handset
maker's Android-based devices infringed an appointment scheduling patent owned
by the Microsoft.
The Windows software maker has
already forced other firms including Samsung, HTC and others to pay it for the
use of its innovations within Google's system software.
Split texts
The latest ruling centres on a European patent named
"communicating multi-part messages between cellular devices using a
standardised interface".
It is designed to tackle the problem
that SMS messages were designed to offer a maximum of 160 characters.
It describes a way of
"fragmenting" a longer text into smaller parts and then
"reassembling" it within an application on the receiver's handset.
Florian Mueller, a patent consultant
who advises Microsoft, was at the ruling made at a court in Munich.
He blogged that Google could find it
difficult to work around the problem if it refuses to pay a licence fee.
"Since this patent covers
operating system-level functionality, the modifications 'Googlerola' would have
to make to Android... would lead to significant complications," he wrote.
"Android apps that make use of
Android's messaging layer would have to be rewritten, and some functionality
that Android used to provide to app developers would have to be implemented by
the affected applications themselves."
A statement from Google said:
"We expect a written decision from the court on 1 June and upon review,
will explore all options including appeal."
Written by thecodewhiz
Thecodewhiz is a tech savvy internet enthusiast,Designer,ICT Support Specialist, amatuer Dj and Photographer who loves sharing information.Find Technology tips and tricks and more here...
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