According to a report published by Reuters, Apple has sued Motorola in a U.S court alleging that they have breached an agreement with Qualcomm in their efforts to get Apple’s iOS devices banned from selling in Germany. Today’s lawsuit is related to the iPhone 4S which utilizes Qualcomm’s MDM6610 baseband chip, and Apple claims that Qualcomm’s patent license with Motorola exhausts Motorola’s rights to further royalties from Apple.
Last week, Apple was forced to pull all 3G enabled iOS devices except the iPhone 4S from German online Apple Store though it was only temporary and the sales were restored only a few hours after the injunction. Citing from the source:
The suit, filed in a San Diego federal court, argues that Motorola’s German lawsuit against Apple breaches terms of a patent licensing agreement between Motorola and Qualcomm. […]
In the latest lawsuit, Apple says that as a Qualcomm customer, Apple is a third-party beneficiary of Motorola’s agreement with Qualcomm. Under that agreement, Motorola’s rights under certain patents are exhausted, Apple argues.
Motorola representative Christa Smith has declined to comment on the specific details of the case, but said that the company “will continue to vigorously protect our intellectual property.“
