Why are patents related to a wireless standard that one is required to use to interoperate with the networks not available for licensing?
How in the world is anyone supposed to even develop a cellular modem without infringing on these patents? Isn't there some licensing body like the one for MPEG that you can go to and get a blanket license to all of the tech?
As I understand it, Apple believes Motorola should be required to license these patents under FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, And Non-Discrimanatory) terms due to their importance in a fundamental standard. It even said this in the article:
> Apple tried to license the patent under FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms but Motorola was again able to convince the court that if Apple was judged to have infringed, the damages involved would total more than the FRAND rates that were suggested.
What I don't understand, however, is Motorola's argument. If Motorola was supposed to have licensed this patent under FRAND terms to begin with, then why does it possibly matter how much the "damages involved" total?
Ars Technica (http://bit.ly/rxK9jR) has much clearer coverage of this article than TheNextWeb does:
"Motorola approached Apple in 2007, after the launch of the original iPhone, to license this and other standards essential patents for FRAND terms. "We have been negotiating with Apple and offering them reasonable licensing terms and conditions since 2007," Scott Offer, senior vice president and general counsel of Motorola Mobility, said in a statement e-mailed to Ars.
Apple apparently didn't consider the terms very fair...Apple apparently made an offer to license the patent on FRAND terms going forward. But the matter was complicated by the fact that Apple's agreement included a clause that would allow it to try and have the patent invalidated if Motorola tried to seek damages for past infringement over and above the agreed FRAND rate."
Basically, Motorola offered it on FRAND terms, Apple rejected it, and came back with a new offer that was on FRAND terms but with the corollary that if Motorola tried to sue Apple for any infringement they had already done their patent would be invalid.
They are available to licensing. Motorola offered to license them to Apple under FRAND terms and Apple refused (said the terms weren't good enough) and used them without a license.
This is not the first time Apple has been sued for this - it seems to be a common occurrence for them. People offer them licenses for the FRAND patents they're using under FRAND terms, Apple denies them, and then when they get sued they say "But these licenses are FRAND! This doesn't make sense!"
> Apple tried to license the patent under FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms but Motorola was again able to convince the court that if Apple was judged to have infringed, the damages involved would total more than the FRAND rates that were suggested.
That is from the article directly ... clearly that you are saying is not the case.
How in the world is anyone supposed to even develop a cellular modem without infringing on these patents? Isn't there some licensing body like the one for MPEG that you can go to and get a blanket license to all of the tech?