谷歌反訴蘋果，專利大戰上演“人咬狗”
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????史蒂夫?喬布斯生前就曾放話，要對谷歌（Google）惡意剽竊iPhone的行為發動“熱核戰爭”，到目前為止，蘋果都是通過代理人與對手交鋒，在全球各地的法院，針對安卓（Android）手機與平板電腦制造商提起了幾十場訴訟。 ????如今，頗具諷刺意味的是，谷歌也反過來指控蘋果剽竊它的專利。而且，谷歌并不針對蘋果的代理，而是直接向美國國際貿易委員會（U.S. International Trade Commission，簡稱ITC）起訴蘋果公司。 ????根據公司提供給彭博社（Bloomberg）與《華爾街日報》（Wall Street Journal）的新聞稿，訴訟稱蘋果公司的iPhone、iPad和iPod Touch侵犯了谷歌的七項專利。約一年前，谷歌收購摩托羅拉移動（Motorola Mobility），并獲得了該公司的1.7萬項專利，其中就包括這次訴訟中涉及的七項專利。 ????谷歌旗下的摩托羅拉部門發言人稱：“我們希望能夠解決專利問題。但蘋果拒絕授權合作，我們別無選擇，只好被迫采取行動捍衛公司和我們工程師的創新成果。” ????目前，起訴書的具體內容尚未公開，而且關于蘋果公司侵權的專利，谷歌的表述模糊不清，只是說并不涉及行業內不得不使用的專利權。之前，摩托羅拉曾就這些專利權對蘋果提起過訴訟，但都以失敗告終。（點擊查看詳情） ????據科技博客TechCrunch作者弗雷德里克?拉德諾斯稱，訴狀中的七項專利分別涉及位置提醒、電子郵件通知、視頻回放和Siri語音服務功能等，而且這次起訴的嚴重程度可能會導致蘋果公司生產的所有iOS產品被禁止進口到美國。 ????犬儒主義者對此會有什么看法？專利博客網站FOSS Patent的佛羅里爾?穆勒周六就指出，谷歌此次起訴的時間恰好選在兩條壞消息到來之前： ????針對摩托羅拉移動被收購之前對蘋果公司提起的訴訟，ITC計劃在周四做出終審裁定。穆勒認為，裁定結果可能對蘋果有利 ????針對涉及數十億美元的蘋果起訴三星（Samsung）案件，陪審團計劃在周三開始審議。關注該案件的大部分觀察人士都認為，全球最大的安卓手機制造商在此次訴訟中的形勢不容樂觀。 ????穆勒稱，在這個節骨眼上，谷歌可能希望向其制造商合作伙伴們證明，谷歌也有不遜于蘋果的專利戰利器。此外，谷歌或許也在努力向華爾街證明，去年八月，公司為收購摩托羅拉移動投入的125億美元巨資并沒有打水漂。 ????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓 |
????So far, the "thermonuclear war" Steve Jobs promised to wage against Google (GOOG) for allegedly ripping off the iPhone has been fought through proxies -- several dozen lawsuits filed in courts around the world against the manufacturers of Android phones and tablets. ????Now, in a move rich with irony, Google has accused Apple (AAPL) of ripping off itspatents. And rather than attacking a proxy, it has filed suit directly against Cupertino in the U.S. International Trade Commission. ????The claim, according to press statements issued to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, is that Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch infringe seven of the roughly 17,000 patents Google inherited when it bought Motorola Mobility just over a year ago. ????"We would like to settle these patent matters," said a spokesperson for Google's Motorola division, "but Apple's unwillingness to work out a license leaves us little choice but to defend ourselves and our engineers' innovations." ????The filing has not yet been made public. and Google has been a little vague about what patents Apple may have infringed -- except to say that they are not the kind of standards-essential patents that Motorola had earlier tried and failed to use against Apple. (See here.) ????According to TechCrunch's Frederick Lardinois, the patents in question involve location reminders, e-mail notifications, video playback and Siri, and were deemed serious enough to demand an import ban against nearly every iOS product Apple makes. ????Cynics might point out, as FOSS Patent's Florial Mueller did Saturday, that Google's suit was filed only days before the expected arrival of what could be two pieces of bad legal news for Mountain View: ????? On Thursday, the ITC is scheduled to issue a final ruling on a suit Motorola Mobility brought against Apple before it was acquired -- one that Mueller thinks likely to be decided in Apple's favor ????? On Wednesday, the jury is scheduled to begin deliberations in the multi-billion dollar Apple v. Samsung trial -- a trial that most court watchers feel has not been going well for the world's largest manufacturer of Android phones. ????Google, says Mueller, may be hoping to show its manufacturing partners at this critical juncture that it has a patent war chest equal to Apple's. ????It may also be trying to to prove to Wall Street that it wasn't pouring money down the drain last August when it spent a whopping $12.5 billion to buy Motorola Mobility. |
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