9:27 PM
Kakrona Chan
Apple has sued Motorola, claiming smartphones like the Droid, Cliq, Backflip and others violate six of Apple’s patents related to multi-touch interfaces and mobile operating systems.You could say the lawsuit was made in retaliation against Motorola’s own lawsuit against Apple, in which Motorola claimed that Apple simply ignored Motorola’s patents on several mobile technologies instead of licensing them when it developed and released the iPhone.
Technology companies like this often push the envelope when it comes to using technologies that might be patented by competitors, but since it happens so often, a sort of mutually assured destruction prevents things from flaring up. Unfortunately, the nuclear holocaust of lawsuits seems to have begun.
About a month ago, Microsoft sued Motorola over smartphone-related patents, too. And while we enjoy the multi-touch interface on the Droid, it’s arguably ripped straight from the iPhone experience, and that technology is patented by Apple. Whether that patent will hold up in court remains to be seen.
These lawsuits often take months or even years to resolve, so get comfortable if you’re waiting for a resolution. Chances are the companies will settle out of court at some point and we’ll never know the full details of what went down. The good news: Since this will take so long to resolve, don’t expect your Droid to lose its multi-touch functionality any time soon — or ever.
[via mashable]
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