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Microsoft has launched a legal assault against Motorola for requesting unfair patent royalties involving video streaming. Filed with the European Commission, the complaint alleges that Motorola has broken a promise to license patents on industry-standard technologies in a "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" (FRAND) way, but Microsoft says there's nothing FRANDly about Motorola's demands.
"You probably take for granted that you can view videos on your smartphone, tablet, PC, or DVD/Blu-ray player and connect to the Internet without being tied to a cable," Microsoft wrote. The company said that these features are possible through technical standards and the "promises" made by participating companies to license their related patents on reasonable terms. Motorola violated this oath.
"Motorola is demanding that Microsoft take its products off the market, or else remove their standards-based ability to play video and connect wirelessly. The only basis for these actions is that these products implement industry standards, on which Motorola claims patents. Yet when the industry adopted these standards, we all were counting on Motorola and every contributor to live up to their promises."
To use 50 of Motorola's patents, Microsoft would have to pay 2.25% against the final price of products that use H.264 -- or $22.50 for a $1,000 laptop. What's more, that rate supposedly scales unfairly. For instance, a $2,000 laptop would cost Microsoft $45, even though the improved specifications (a larger hard drive, more memory, a titanium chassis and so on) bear no relevance to the patents in question.
By comparison, to use H.264, Microsoft also has to license 2,300 more patents from 29 other firms. The software giant pays this group two cents to use their technology on a $1,000 laptop (it's noted that Windows qualifies for a volume discount, but nobody pays more than $0.20 per unit). "Motorola is demanding that Microsoft pay more than 1,000 times that for use of just 50 patents," Redmond wrote.
"Imagine if every firm acted like Motorola. Windows implements more than 60 standards, and a PC supports about 200. If every firm priced its standard essential patents like Motorola, the cost of the patents would be greater than all the other costs combined in making PCs, tablets, smartphones and other devices. Obviously, this would greatly increase the prices of these devices for consumers."
Having recently purchased Motorola for $12.5 billion, Microsoft asked Google to rectify the matter, but the search giant isn't playing nice, apparently. Microsoft hasn't made it clear what it believes would be a fair rate and considering its reputation for being a bully, the company's plea for sympathy may not go as planned. A similar patent licensing feud is ongoing between Motorola and Apple in Germany.
User Comments: 35
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RH00D said:
Guest said:[...]
Here are some royalty-free audio codecs:
Here are some royalty-free video codecs:
http://www.webmproject.org (WebM uses Vorbis for audio, VP8 for video, and the WebM container format)
[...]
Thanks for the info, Guest. Appreciated!
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mario said:
If Google doesn't like software patents, no one does only big companies, maybe instead of spending $12 billion on Motorola Mobility for its patents, they should better spend that money lobbying in D.C. for patent reform.
Do you really think the U.S. congress is capable of doing anything to benefit anyone but the biggest corporations, except under extreme public pressure? That'd be something new, wouldn't it...
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"By comparison, to use H.264, Microsoft also has to license 2,300 more patents from 29 other firms."
wah. whining from the monopolistic bully that has had its way and amassed billions and billions
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@Guest #29
It doesn't mean one may allow another company to 'bully' others just for the sake of their own good right? In this specific case Google is absurdly wrong, it is the whiner which is unable to shed the accusation of patent theft, hence it is trying to get even by flouting FRAND.
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Right so your best alternative is to get rid of Windows altogether and problem solved. Hint Ubuntu is a pretty good FREE OS.
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Wall Street and their skveeing sleezebag lawyers are going to kill the internet, yet.
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Just goes to show how hopeless the world is.
You take something we all use and love, and somebody has to come along and try to rape everybody to make a buck. It's sad that it's Google and Motorola this time, but it also shows that most big companies are the same. $$$ over ethics.
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Would you not agree its time these stupid patent laws are dropped... its getting better and better every single day, isn't it?
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Some people reading and posting here are forgetting the bigger picture. Apple and M$ have been relentlessly attacking Android with questionable patents. If they want to play the patent game, then let them play. Google has every right to defend itself and it's doing so here. Notice that Google isn't going out and strong-arming any and all competition the way M$ does. Google is specifically targeting M$ because of the ridiculous licensing fees against Android OEMs.
Lesson to M$ and crApple: If you play with fire, expect to get burned.
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The biggest issue with this argument is that no body has 'questioned' these 'questionable patents', instead every manufacturer just decided to pay to patent holders, which proves just one point, i.e. Google has been a blatant thief in the first place. However, I do believe that any such payments must be within reason. So far, it is Google which has been benefiting one way or another of this theft while leaving its partners to fend off for themselves.
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