Judge chastises Apple, Google over patent litigation
The U.S. District Court judge said that the companies have "no interest in efficiently and expeditiously" resolving their dispute over Motorola Mobility patents.
Apple and Google's Motorola Mobility are doing everything they can to keep their patent litigation going, a district court judge has charged.
In an order released earlier this week, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Scola said that he believes Apple and Motorola "have no interest in efficiently and expeditiously resolving this dispute; they instead are using this and similar litigation worldwide as a business strategy that appears to have no end." According to Bloomberg, which was first to report on the ruling, Scola said that the companies are not properly using the court's time and resources.
Apple and Motorola have been in a bitter patent dispute since 2010. In some cases, Apple has won a small victory over Motorola, while in others, the opposite has been the case. Either way, the companies have made little headway in resolving their disputes and the issues at play are mounting. According to Bloomberg, the single case before Scola includes over 180 patent-infringement claims and disagreement over more than 100 terms in those patents.
Apple, of course, is not solely involved in a dispute with Motorola. The company has been for years engaged in battles with several other handset makers, most notably, Samsung. So far, however, Apple hasn't been able to find a single decisive victory that will lead it to ultimate success across the entire marketplace. Even last summer's $1.05 billion judgment in Apple's favor against Samsung has been dramatically reduced.
Meanwhile, Apple's competitors have also failed at getting the company to back off.
In addition to complaining about the litigation between Apple and Motorola, Scola ordered the companies to reduce the scope of the lawsuit within the next four months. If they fail to do so, he'll put the case on hold.