On Monday, Apple’s FRAND-related lawsuit against Motorola was surprising dismissed.
Apple, which accused Motorola of unfair licensing practices, had been bracing for a trial with its Google-owned rival for well over 18 months. But Judge Barbara Crabb of Wisconsin dismissed the case with “prejudice.”
In other words, Apple could still get the trial, but it must first successfully appeal the judge’s decision.
The Apple v. Motorola Mobility trial was scheduled to begin Monday at 1 PM, CNET confirms.
Things had gone mostly Apple’s way up until last week, Foss Patents blogger Florian Mueller wrote, when the Google-owned Motorola filed a motion that would have required Apple to adhere to whatever the court decided was a fair royalty rate. But Apple played hardball, saying it would only agree to a court-determined rate if the rate didn’t exceed $1 per iPhone.
Although the trial has, for now at least, been put off, no one expects Apple and Motorola to settle their dispute outside of the courtroom.
