Microsoft Succeeds in Banning All Motorola Android Devices from Germany

dgstorm

Editor in Chief
Staff member
Jan 5, 2011
2,205
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droid-banned.jpeg

Because most of the us have been paying the most attention to the Samsung vs. Apple Patent Wars it made it easy to forget there were other legal battles raging in the mobile tech industry. From out of nowhere, a pretty big bombshell of news has been dropped today. Microsoft won it's lawsuit against Motorola in Germany, and now Motorola’s entire Android lineup is banned there.

Also, in stark contrast to the Apple vs Samsung baseless lawsuits, this one looks very legitimate. Apparently, all of Motorola's devices use Microsoft's FAT (File Allocation Tablet) system for storing info, but for some inexplicable reason, Motorola refused to accept a royalty-bearing patent license with Microsoft over this issue. Motorola plans to appeal the verdict (the judge already denied Motorola's motion to stay the ban), but in the mean-time it can no longer sell any of its Android devices in Germany, including the RAZR and RAZR MAXX. Germany may not be one of Motorola's largest markets overall, but it is one of their biggest European markets, so this could sting their pocketbook just a bit.

Looking at the bigger picture; however, things are actually pretty grim for Moto. They have the same case going on in the United States, and if the U.S. court takes the German court's decision into consideration, the legal precedent set could cause a cascade effect in the U.S. as well. This would pretty much be "game over" for Motorola. Of course, a not so easy option for Motorola would be to simply switch the file system of all their devices from FAT to something Linux based like most Android phones. This would make it a bit more difficult for Motorola users to transfer files from their device to a PC, but it would solve Moto's problem.

It will be interesting to see what decisions Motorola makes now that Google is their parent. We will keep you informed if anything changes.

Source: AndroidAuthority
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jan 6, 2011
5,172
899
Of course, a not so easy option for Motorola would be to simply switch the file system of all their devices from FAT to something Linux based like most Android phones. This would make it a bit more difficult for Motorola users to transfer files from their device to a PC, but it would solve Moto's problem.

It will be interesting to see what decisions Motorola makes now that Google is their parent. We will keep you informed if anything changes.

Source: AndroidAuthority

Or you know, they could just pay the fees like everybody else. In this case there is a legit argument for MS to be compensated for something they developed and others are using. MS isn't trying to block anybody from being in the market, they just want to be paid for their work. I am sure the fees are very minor in the grand scheme of things and it is surprising Moto is refusing for some reason. Maybe with Google's pockets behind them they will just decide to pay up.
 

Androidfonefan

Senior Member
Jan 14, 2012
474
49
Just one more reason why I hate Microsoft, apple, Google and the rest of them.
Good old fashion competition is like acid to them, they fight over who has the right do use the word word or booger.
I have windows on my laptops but use Linux. I keep windows in case I need it. I have never knowingly and will never knowingly purchased a windows phone. And I didn't notice until after I bought my car that the software on it is from Microsoft. So now I'm looking for the start button and waiting for the blue screen of death.

Sent from my A1_07 using Tapatalk 2
 
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