News
Microsoft Gets Break in Case Over Motorola's Push Patents
A German court may reexamine a patents infringement case that Microsoft
lost to Motorola, according to a Microsoft spokesperson today.
The spokesperson indicated today via e-mail that the court, based in
Mannheim, will put off a decision in a case where Motorola sued over "data
sync technology used by Microsoft products that use Exchange ActiveSync."
The data sync technology is also described as "push" technology, in which
content is pushed down from a server to a client, such as sending e-mail
notifications to mobile devices.
The push technology can continue to be used in Microsoft's products while
Judge Andreas Voss considers some details about the case, according to
Germany-based blogger Florian Müller, who describes himself as a consultant, currently retained by Microsoft and Oracle. He said that
the judge is reviewing the case after considering "prior use" details
supplied by Microsoft, according to a
post today.
Microsoft issued the following statement on the matter:
"We are pleased the Mannheim court is looking even more closely at this
case and remain confident in our arguments."
Apple is already barred by a German court from using this same Motorola
push technology, according to a CNet
story. The court slapped an injuction on Apple in February, causing
the company to turn off its e-mail notification services in Germany for
iOS-devices using iCloud and MobileMe services, according to the article.
This case is separate from Motorola Mobility's litigation over the use of
H.264 video codec technology in Microsoft products, such as its Xbox
gaming console. That case was decided in Motorola's favor in Germany, but
enforcement got
postponed this month by a Seattle court.
About the Author
Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.