Motorola Android phones infringe on Microsoft SMS patent, German court rules

By Loek Essers in Computer World

IDG News Service - Motorola Mobility Android phones infringe on a Microsoft text messaging patent, the Higher District Court of Munich ruled on Thursday.

The German court ruled that Motorola infringes on a Microsoft patent that allows a phone to break up a long text message from a sender and reassemble it for the person receiving it. The technology is used as a way to send longer text messages over the air.

The appeal was rejected and Motorola has to bear all the costs of the appeal, said Wilhelm Schneider, spokesman for the Higher District Court of Munich in an email. "An appeal against this decision was not approved," Schneider added.

"Generally this decision prevents Motorola from selling its Android phones in Germany," Microsoft spokesman Thomas Baumgartner said in an email. "We are gratified the court has affirmed the District Courts original decision and that Motorola remains unable to sell infringing products in Germany," he added.

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Google buys Motorola Mobility for $12.5B - Computerworld

Google buys Motorola Mobility for $12.5B - Computerworld

IDG News Service - Google has entered into an agreement to acquire the mobile phone and tablet maker Motorola Mobility for about $12.5 billion, the company said Monday.

Google has offered about $40 per share in cash, a premium of 63% over the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday.

Motorola Mobility exclusively ships phones and its Xoom tablet with Google'sAndroid operating system. The deal will mean that Google now has a hardware manufacturer to work with closely to develop Android, said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.

Google will also have control of Motorola's impressive patent portfolio, Milanesi said. Motorola Mobility said earlier this year that it owns about 24,500 patents.

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