Motorola Mobility, the division of Motorola Inc. that makes mobile devices and television set-top boxes, has countersued Microsoft Corp. over patent infringement.
The complaints, filed with the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Florida and the Western District of Wisconsin, come days after Microsoft sued Motorola in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Microsoft alleged in its lawsuit that Motorola sought unreasonable royalties for technologies that the Redmond, Wash.-based company uses in products such as its Xbox gaming system.
Motorola’s lawsuit accuses Microsoft of infringing 16 patents with its PC and server software, Windows mobile software and Xbox products. Motorola Mobility, which is based in Libertyville, said the Microsoft products involved in the infringement include Outlook, Windows Live instant messaging and graphical passwords on the Xbox system.
“It is unfortunate that Microsoft has chosen the litigation path rather than entering into comprehensive licensing negotiations, as Motorola has mutually beneficial licensing relationships with the great majority of technology companies inudstry-wide,” Kirk Dailey, corporate vice president of intellectual property at Motorola Mobility, said in a statement.
Motorola and Microsoft are no strangers to each other in court. In September, Microsoft sued Motorola over alleged patent infringement related to smartphone technology.
