Microsoft to expand German lawsuit against Motorola Mobility to hold Google liable

“Today the Munich I Regional Court, which has already identified five patent infringements by Android-based devices, held a first hearing on a Microsoft complaint against wholly-owned Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility over EP0845124 on a “computer system for identifying local resources and method therefor”, which is the European equivalent of U.S. Patent No. 6,240,360,” Florian Mueller reports for FOSS Patents.

“Previous German patent rulings in Apple’s and Microsoft’s favor have already required Google (Motorola) to pull all of its Android-based devices, without any exception, from the German market,” Mueller reports. “But Microsoft keeps up the pressure and continues to prove Android’s wide-ranging infringement of its intellectual property until the Google subsidiary will join Samsung, HTC, LG and others in taking a royalty-bearing license to the numerous Microsoft patents it is currently violating. The German situation validates the decisions of industry leaders like Samsung, HTC and LG to sign up to Microsoft’s Android (and Chrome) patent licensing program.”

Mueller reports, “This latest German lawsuit, which was filed in April 2012 targets Android’s Google Maps app. At today’s three-hour hearing, Motorola Mobility doggedly denied Microsoft’s infringement contentions without specifying how Google’s server infrastructure operates. Toward the end of the court session, Microsoft’s lead counsel, Dr. Tilman Mueller-Stoy of the Bardehle Pagenberg firm, the leading German IP firm that has won more injunctions (five) against Android than any other law firm in the world, made a very significant announcement in open court: Microsoft will amend this complaint in order to add Google Inc., Motorola Mobility’s parent company and operator of the server infrastructure that powers the Google Maps Android app, as an additional defendant.”

Much more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Uh, go, Microsoft, go?!

(Yuck! That always makes us feel like we just drank spoiled milk.)

Tim Bajarin: The real reason why Apple dumped Google Maps

“I have been fascinated with all the bluster and vitriol thrown at Apple since they tossed Google Maps in favor of their own Map app without these detractors trying to get to the bottom of why Apple made this move,” Tim Bajarin writes for TechPinions.

“Contrary to many peoples thinking, the move was not to punish Google in any way. Rather, the decision was a very pragmatic one that in the end will be good for Apple and really good for their customers,” Bajarin writes. “One key reason for Apple dumping Google Maps is that Apple wanted turn-by-turn directions and for obvious reasons, Google did not want to license this feature to Apple because it gave them a competitive advantage over Apple.”

Bajarin writes, “However there is an even more important reason Apple took this action… At the heart of Siri lies a rich database of content that Siri can draw from to give users the answers to the questions they ask. However, when Apple introduced it they never even uttered the word ‘database’ in explaining how it works. What they did say is that Siri was in its early stages of learning and over time, as people use Siri, it would get smarter. It was almost positioned as a beta release.”

MacDailyNews Take: Siri wasn’t just “almost positioned” by Apple as a beta release, it was clearly labeled as such.

Bajarin writes, “At the iPhone launch, Apple probably should have stated, as they did with Siri, that this new map app is a work in progress and more like a beta. That would have at least tempered the criticism to a point. But by praising it and then people finding a lot of inaccuracies, it comes off as a wounded product instead of what it really is; a mapping database that will become more accurate over time… Apple’s decision to jettison Google Maps was not an emotional one. Indeed, the decision was done to make sure they owned their customers data and did not give Google any help with Android. And as iOS users give Apple feedback on map data and accuracy, a very rich mapping database will emerge that could be even better than what Google offers today.”

Much more in the full article – recommended (note that where Bajarin writes “60,000,” he likely means “60 million”) – here.

TomTom more than willing to help Apple fix iOS 6 Map app problems

“TomTom, the Dutch navigation equipment and digital map maker, is more than willing to help Apple Inc. fix the problems it is experiencing in its map feature on the latest iPhone, a TomTom spokesperson said on Friday,” Reuters reports.

“‘We stand by the quality of our maps,’ Caroline Fisher, vice-president of TomTom’s consumer business unit, said,” Reuters reports. “Fisher added that TomTom does not have an in-house team at Apple but that it is more than willing to help Apple to solve the current mapping problems.

Reuters reports, “Fisher declined to comment on whether Apple had asked the Dutch map maker for help.”

Read more in the full article here.

Related articles:
Apple’s home-grown Maps leaves some users lost – September 21, 2012
Apple puts iOS Maps team in lockdown to fix issues; promises improvements – September 20, 2012
Apple’s Maps app responsible for all the evil in the universe – September 20, 2012
Mashable’s Chris Taylor: Apple’s Maps are very bad indeed, almost unusably bad – September 20, 2012
New Apple Maps app under fire from iPhone, iPad users – September 20, 2012
Apple’s refined iOS 6 highlighted by stunning Maps overhaul – September 19, 2012
Apple’s Maps a looming disaster? – September 18, 2012
iOS 6 Maps app superior to Google maps; will also be used in third-party apps – August 4, 2012