Microsoft recently announced that it is suing Motorola for “allegedly violating a number of trade patents it had in developing the increasingly-popular Android mobile platform,” which, of course, Motorola denies.The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington State and a complaint was filed with the International Trade Commission. Microsoft claims Motorola has violated nine patents, which cover: the synchronization of email, calendars and contacts, scheduling of meetings, as well as notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.
Microsoft is not the first – Apple and Oracle have taken similar actions with Android. The smartphone market is a hotbed of competition, with Microsoft asserting itself in the mobile game. This lawsuit, like the Apple lawsuit filed against HTC, is about the Android O/S. While Oracle is taking a head-to-head approach by suing Google directly, both Microsoft and Apple are running an “end around” by suing the smart phone manufacturers on whose products the Android O/S is deployed.