Apple averts import ban after Motorola patent case win

Source：April 23, 2013 | Bloomberg Release Date：2013-04-25 170

Medical Equipment

The sensor patent was all that was left of a case that also involved claims that Apple infringed Motorola Mobility patents for third-generation wireless technology used throughout the industry

By Susan Decker

Apple Inc. (AAPL) averted an order that could have hindered imports of the iPhone 4 into the U.S. after persuading a U.S. trade agency to invalidate a patent owned by Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Motorola Mobility unit over a phone sensor.

The U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington yesterday upheld a judge’s findings that the Motorola Mobility patent is invalid, though for different reasons. The patent covers a sensor that prevents the phone from accidentally hanging up or activating an application when close to a person’s face.

The decision marks the latest instance in which neither Cupertino, California-based Apple nor Google has been able to strike a decisive blow against its competitor in a squabble that began more than two years ago. Each has claimed the other is infringing patents, and Apple accused Motorola Mobility of breaching obligations to license some of its most widely used technology on fair terms.

“This is not a surprise because the commission has heretofore not found a violation by Apple in any case as to any claim in any patent,”ADIDAS