NEW YORK — A federal judge in Madison, Wis., on Monday threw out a suit by Apple Inc. claiming that Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility is seeking unreasonably high license fees for the use of patents on wireless technology.
The suit is part of a world spanning battle between Apple and Google, whose Android software powers the smart phones that compete with Apple’s iPhone.
In the suit filed last year,Apple said the license fee Motorola sought - 2.25 percent of the price of devices that incorporate Motorola’s patented technologies - was too high. The devices at issue include the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Motorola is obliged by standards-setting bodies to offer licenses at “reasonable” rates when the patents are part of industry standards like Wi-Fi and cellular technology.
There are various definitions of what constitutes a “reasonable” rate.
Business, Pages 26 on 11/06/2012