Apple Suing Motorola Over Design of Xoom Tablet

[MacRumors]

While Apple has been engaged in a number of high-profile patent lawsuits with its competitors offering Android-based hardware, one of the quieter disputes has gained new attention today following a discovery by FOSS Patents that Apple has in fact sued Motorola in Europe, claiming that the Motorola Xoom tablet infringes upon the design of Apple's products. The revelation comes in a court document filed in Germany and associated with the preliminary injunction granted against Samsung yesterday barring sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Prior to or simultaneously with the motion for a preliminary injunction against Samsung, Apple also filed a complaint with the same court over the design of the Motorola Xoom tablet. Here's a passage from the Samsung complaint that mentions two other lawsuits Apple instigated against iPad competitors -- Motorola and a local German company named JAY-tech...

The document does not state whether Apple has pushed for a preliminary injunction against the sale of the Xoom in the European Union as it did for the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but Apple is presumably seeking a more permanent injunction against Motorola's tablet offering.

Apple also notes in its filing that a preliminary injunction against JAY-tech was granted and further upheld "in its entirety" following a hearing. Apple does not specify exactly what model of tablet from JAY-tech was the subject of the injunction, but JAY-tech last year began offering a budget 7-inch Android-based tablet, and the company no longer appears to be selling that product.

Motorola fired the first shot against Apple last October, claiming infringement of a series of 18 Motorola patents by a broad array of Apple's Mac and iOS products. Apple responded a few weeks later with a lawsuit focused on multi-touch functionality and targeting Motorola's Droid and other smartphones.

Things have generally been quiet between Apple and Motorola since the initial filings last year, but today's revelation makes clear that Apple has continued to press its case and gone on the offensive against not only Motorola's smartphones but also its tablets.

Article Link: Apple Suing Motorola Over Design of Xoom Tablet

 

[talkingfuture]

Looks like Apple are getting very aggressive over this one.

 

[interestedabit]

Looks like Apple are getting very aggressive over this one.

Rightly so!

 

[WalkingSnake]

It's business. If Apple doesn't defend its patents in every possible case, then the select cases they go after will use the "They're calling out me, but not these people" defense... and it will work.

If you pick-and-choose when to defend your patent, you're going to lose it. Patent enforcement is all or none, not just sometimes.

But people will still call out Apple for being trolls, of course.

 

[kenypowa]

This is getting ridiculous.

Did Apple patent rectangle or touch screen? Anyone else other than Steve Jobs notice any resemblance between Xoom and iPad?

 

[nikhsub1]

Live and let live? Maybe I don't get it but who cares?

 

[rafaltrus]

So many copy-cats nowadays! I am not for Apple to own the mobile market, we need competition in the market, and what is going on within the tablet world is nowhere near real competition.

 

[alent1234]

that is some crazy laws that the europeans have. and this has nothing to do with patents

 

[Kevin098]

Motorola CEO will say "This is really real S H ! T this time"

 

[grmatt]

I don't think the Xoom looks all that much like iOS, but that Jay Tech crap is a straight rip off. Look at the dock!

 

[res1233]

It's obvious to everyone that all these tablet manufacturers didn't out of the blue get the idea to include a mobile OS on a tablet, rather than a full-fledged desktop OS like Microsoft seems to still be trying to do... Not that there's a better way to do it or anything, but all these Android tablets are just mimicking the iPad, like Android did with iPhone OS in the first place.

 

[barkomatic]

Everyone is suing everyone else for patent infringement. Why don't they mutually agree to either open all the patents--thus paving the way for true innovation and exciting new products, or just pay each other royalties? It will probably all come out even in the end.

 

[Mjmar]

Is Apple going to sue everyone who makes a tablet that's a rectangle?

Wait nvm, after looking at the pics again that jay-tech company totes deserves to be sued.

 

[xionxiox]

They should be sued anyway for making such an ugly POS!

 

[hexx]

i know i'm gonna be downrated for this but: why sue them, zoom is as dead as it has always been - waste of money on lawyers

 

[O and A]

This is getting ridiculous.

Did Apple patent rectangle or touch screen? Anyone else other than Steve Jobs notice any resemblance between Xoom and iPad?

Actually they were the first to come up with that form factor.

The form factor being a thick black bezel on touch device. No one else had done this before and everyone else has since.

 

[troop231]

I'm not sure how you can not copy the iPad somewhat, touchscreen ...check, rectangular shape ...check, cameras ...check. speaker ...check. etc. etc.

 

[Joe-Diver]

They have every right to go after these infringing products. They're obviously blatant rip offs of Apple products, thinly disguised and made "just a little different".....Some of these products are just so obviously a copy its laughable.

 

[grmatt]

Everyone is suing everyone else for patent infringement. Why don't they mutually agree to either open all the patents--thus paving the way for true innovation and exciting new products, or just pay each other royalties? It will probably all come out even in the end.

Because it won't encourage innovation. Why would Apple continue to innovate if other companies are allowed to sit back and copy what Apple did attempting to reap the benefit of the time and money Apple put into R&D?

 

[Icaras]

Anyone else other than Steve Jobs notice any resemblance between Xoom and iPad?

Um...yes.

 

[xionxiox]

It's obvious to everyone that all these tablet manufacturers didn't out of the blue get the idea to include a mobile OS on a tablet, rather than a full-fledged desktop OS like Microsoft seems to still be trying to do... Not that there's a better way to do it or anything, but all these Android tablets are just mimicking the iPad, like Android did with iPhone OS in the first place.

EXACTLY. The tech companies thought it was such a stupid idea to put a mobile phone OS on a tablet, but once the iPad blew up, they all bit there tongues and did the same exact thing.

 

[840quadra]

For some reason I am really curious how this lawsuit pans out, considering both companies are based out of the US.

Seeing one out in the wild (a coworker has one), I wouldn't mistake it as an iPad, however I vaguely understand Apple's claims enough to understand the lawsuit.

For me, it is going to be interesting to watch.

 

[PeterQVenkman]

Because it won't encourage innovation. Why would Apple continue to innovate if other companies are allowed to sit back and copy what Apple did attempting to reap the benefit of the time and money Apple put into R&D?

I don't feel like the current patent troll climate (in software or hardware) encourages innovation at all. You may have the next best thing in apps, hardware, or whatever, but because of some ridiculous patent like "clicking a link that communicated with a server" (or some other insane stuff) people either get sued into oblivion or simply find another job.

Often the little guys are the ones who are squashed or simply threatened like a geek oriented episode of the Sopranos.

 

[nanotlj]

Just wonder whether the preliminary injunction in Germany is simply a court order or specifically requested by Apple.
As in the Australian case, it looks like the preliminary injunction was requested by Apple and was granted on the basis that Apple would pay a sum if it finally loses the case. So preliminary injunction is really a dangerous game!

Either Apple is super confident in these cases, or maybe it is becoming super arrogant: We have a huge cash so we can sue anyone as we like.

 

[ghostface147]

Ok, this is getting out of hand. I know companies have to defend their IP, but personally I'd never confuse a Xoom or Galaxy for an iPad.