Apple didn't infringe on Google patent, appeals court says
The US Court of Appeals says the Cupertino, Calif.-based company didn't violate a patent owned by Google's Motorola Mobility when developing the iPhone.
The International Trade Commission, a US panel that investigates patent infringement, initially ruled in 2013 that Apple had not violated six patents that Google acquired when it bought Motorola Mobility in 2012 for $12.5 billion. The suit was originally filed in 2010, when Motorola asserted that Apple had infringed on its intellectual property, including the use of technology that stops a user from accidentally activating the phone's touch screen when the handset is on his or her ear.
Only one of the six patents in question was being examined by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
It's not the first time Apple has tangled with other tech giants over patent infringement and its products. The company had been steeped in a long litigation saga with Samsung since April 2011, when Apple initially accused Samsung of copying the look and feel of its products.
In November, a court ruled in a retrial that Samsung owed Apple $290 million in additional damages, bringing the total amount owed to $930 million.