What goes around, comes around. Karma, payback, revenge. There are a lot of words to describe what might happen to Apple if the ITC takes certain steps following a review of an April ruling on a patent infringement case involving Motorola Mobility and Apple. The review is the next step necessary down the long and winding road that could end up with a U.S. ban on the Apple iPhone and Apple iPad. After all, it was Apple that was allegedly behind the ITC exclusion order that kept a couple of Android phones from entering the States. And while they weren't Motorola Mobility phones, they were two high-end Android models and let's not forget that Motorola Mobility is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Google.
Diagram from the patent allegedly infringed upon by Apple
Apple finds itself in this state because back in April Judge Thomas Pender ruled that the Cupertino based firm infringed on one out of four Motorola Mobility patents that the court was examining. The patent at the heart of the matter was issued to Motorola Mobility back in 2001, No. 6,246,697 for a "Method and system for generating a complex pseudonoise sequence for processing a code division multiple access signal" and deals with the wireless chips to be used for Wi-Fi applications.
The review is happening because both Apple and Motorola Mobility have filed petitions relating to claim construction, validity and infringement and Apple is trying to use FRAND licensing policies to argue that the patent at issue should not even be enforced. Apple has received some support from other companies about the FRAND issue and tech giants like Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Nokia and Verizon have sent letters to the ITC supporting the Cupertino based firm's position.
In April 2010, Motorola Mobility sued Apple claiming infringement on a number of patents relating to wireless communications. Apple filed a countersuit with the ITC, which ultimately cleared Motorola Mobility this past March.
Even though Judge Pender threw out the claims made by Motorola Mobility on three patents, the ITC is actually reviewing all four including the '697 patent. Apple and Motorola will reply to questions raised by the six-member commission in the next few weeks with a final decision due in August.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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