Apple’s legal battles have been quietly continuing in the U.S. even after their landmark $1 Billion win over Samsung a few months ago. Apple is currently trying to fight patent claims lobbied against it by Motorola Mobility which is now owned by Google.
With five days to go before their contract trial starts in Wisconsin, Apple formally declared to the court that it will be willing to pay a licensing fee to Motorola Mobility as long as the license is $1 or less per iPhone sold.
The court has the ability to set a FRAND rate at or below $1, and Apple has said that they will start payment right away if the court chooses to do so. If the court sets the FRAND at more than $1 per iPhone, then Apple will appeal the decision and do everything they can to not pay Google.
Apple is seeking to show the court that it is serious about resolving their wireless dispute with Motorola through a licensing agreement on FRAND terms.
FOSS Patents notes that Apple’s commitment to pay the $1 per iPhone licensing fee was made from a position of strength, after Motorola was informed that their key witness in the trial cannot testify about a particular rate because the didn’t offer any opinion about what particular rate would constitute a FRAND royalty.
When the trial starts in five days Apple is expected to use expert testimony to justify why they should only have to pay $1 per iPhone to Motorola, along with “copious amounts of real world evidence.”
Source: FOSS Patents