Microsoft, Cephalon, DuPont, Red Bull: Intellectual Property
(This is a daily report on global news about patents, trademarks, copyright and other intellectual property topics. aDDS Stop Online Piracy Act item in copyright section.)
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, told a German court that Android-based smartphones and tablets from Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. infringe its European patents.
Microsoft claimed in the first of three cases heard yesterday that software Motorola Mobility uses protected technology that helps computers switch between languages in the same program. Presiding Judge Peter Guntz in Munich said the patent may have been drafted so narrowly that its language may not cover the solution Motorola Mobility uses.
It was the first time the two U.S. companies faced each other in a German court in the patent dispute. The country has become a center for European smartphone and tablet lawsuits with Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. are involved in similar cases in Mannheim and Munich.