Motorola abused patent position EU says
The European Union's Competition Commission has ruled that Motorola Mobility (owned by Google) abused its position in the German mobile market by filing a patent injunction against Apple.
Motorola won an injunction related to Apple products using data transmission technology in February 2012. The fruit-logo company offered to pay a licence fee for the patents but the companies failed to agree on a price. A number of Apple products, including iPad and severall iPhone models, were taken off sale in Germany during the dispute.
The Commission argued that Motorola enjoined the injunction despite Apple's willingness to enter into an agreement. Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia says:
The protection of intellectual property is a cornerstone of innovation and growth. But so is competition. I think that companies should spend their time innovating and competing on the merits of the products they offer -- not misusing their intellectual property rights to hold up competitors to the detriment of innovation and consumer choice.
You can read the EU’s preliminary review online. Motorola will have the opportunity to defend itself ahead of a final decision.
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