ITC judge: Motorola Mobility infringed Microsoft patent

Motorola Mobility has been found to have infringed one of Microsoft's patents in a preliminary ruling by a US trade panel judge.

Patent dispute experts said that other handset makers may now fall in line.

"If the initial finding is confirmed, then this will put Microsoft in strong position to stop other smartphone manufacturers who have not licensed this US patent from importing phones with an operating system, and not just Android, which includes a calendar and which lets you send meeting scheduling requests by email," said Andrew Alton, European patent attorney at Urquhart-Dykes & Lord who has previously carried out patent work for Apple.