Motorola's seven-patent ITC complaint against Apple detailed

In Motorola's second U.S. International Trade Commission complaint against Apple, the company asserts a number of products infringe on seven owned patents pertaining to wireless technologies like location-based reminders, multimedia applications and managing messages and content.

The ITC on Monday made available the complaint from Google-owned Motorola, originally filed on Friday, revealing the exact patents upon which Apple is accused of infringing. In the claim, a number of Apple iDevices are named, including the iPod touch, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and the third-generation iPad. A number of Apple's Mac OS products are also said to infringe on wireless communication technologies and include the Mac pro, iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

Samsung counsel notes:

Each of the Accused Products meets each and every limitation of at least one claim of one or more of the Asserted patents. The Accused Products include, but are not limited to, all versions of the above-reference products, as well as certain software and services that are distributed as components of these devices. These products, however, are merely illustrative of the types and classes of infringing products that [Apple] manufactures and imports into the United States, sell for importation into the United States, and/or sells within the United States after importation in violation of Section 337.

It should be noted that Motorola is once again being represented by Quinn Emanuel, the same law firm responsible for Samsung's defense in the high-profile Apple v. Samsung patent trial currently in its final stages in California.

As noted by FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller, in addition to the ITC case, Motorola has filed a companion suit asserting the same seven patents in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

The asserted patents (descriptions from Motorola complaint):

1. U.S. Patent No. 5,883,580 for "Geographic-Temporal Significant Messaging" Non-Technical Description of the '580 Patent The '580 Patent generally relates to messaging devices that process messages logically for a user in the context of space and time. The patend discloses, inter alia, a method and apparatus for receiving messages having a relevency status (e.g., a location identifier) and processing the messages when the relevancy status changes. The '580 patent has not been the subject of previous domestic or foreign litigation.
2. U.S. Patent No. 5,922,047 for "Apparatus, Method And System for Multimeda Control And Communication" Non-Technical Description of the '047 Patent The '047 Patent generally relates to communications and control systems for multimedia. In particular, the '047 Patent discloses, inter alia, an apparatus and method for providing control functions over multiple and diverse media applications, preferably operating at more than one designated node or location. The ''047 patent has not been the subject of previous domestic or foreign litigation.
3. U.S. Patent No. 6,425,002 for "Apparatus and Method for Handling Dispatchin Messages for Various Applications of a Communication Device" Non-Technical Description of the '002 Patent The '002 Patent generally relates to communications devices that ensure applications installed therein only receive messages that are of interest. The patent discloses, inter alia, a message manager program for accepting and dispatching messages, application program(s) for handling and presenting messages, and message client program(s) that receive messages from the message manager program and provides them to the application program. The '002 patent has not been the subject of previous domestic or foreign litigation.
4. U.S. Patent No. 6,493,673 for a "Markup Language For Interactive Services And Methods Thereof" Non-Technical Description of the ''673 Patent The '673 Patent generally relates to communications devices that are capable of providing interactive services. The patent discloses, inter alia, providing [a] prompt element including an announcement to be read to a user, and an input element that allows an audible user in put to be converted into a text string. The '673 patent has not been the subject of previous domestic or foreign litigation.
5. U.S. Patent No. 6,983,370 for a "System for Providing Continuity Between Messaging Clients And Method Therefor" Non-Technical Description of the '370 Patent The '370 Patent generally relates to communications systems incorporating capabilities to provide continuity between messaging clients. More specifically, the '370 Patent relates to the ability to sync the messaging capabilities of multiple devices. On or about November 10, 2010, Motorola Mobility filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida based on, inter alia, the alleged infringement of the '370 patent by Microsoft Corporation in the Motorola Mobility, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation. That case was later transferred to the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on or about August 25, 2011 and is pending before that court. There has been no foreign litigation involving the '370 patent.
6. U.S. Patent No. 7,007,064 for "Method And Apparatus For Obtaining And Managing Wirelessly Communicated Content" Non-Technical Description of the '064 Patent The '064 Patent generally relates to wireless communications systems for providing content to wireless communication devices. In particular, the '064 Patent discloses, inter alia, an apparatus and method for obtaining and managing wirelessly communicated content. The '064 patent has not been the subject of previous domestic or foreign litigation.
7. U.S. Patent No. 7,383,983 for a "System And Method for Managing Content Between Devices In Various Domains" Non-Technical Description of the '983 Patent The '983 Patent generally relates to managing content between devices in various domains and, more particularly, to a system and method for pausing content in one device and resuming playback of the content in another device that may be in a different domain. The '983 patent has not been the subject of previous domestic or foreign litigation.

According to Mueller, it makes sense for Motorola to assert original properties in the suit given the ITC threw out five patents Google loaned HTC to fight Apple in a separate case. The FRAND law expert points out, however, the patents-in-suit may not be the strongest in Motorola's stable, as the company chose a number of others over the current seven in previous lawsuits.

Mueller said the ITC will "undoubtedly" open an investigation into the matter within the next month, while an investigation is likely to start in the first half of 2014.