Microsoft Corp. v. Motorola, Inc.
United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
2013 WL 2111217 (2013)
Facts
The video-coding technology standard known as the H.264 Standard incorporated patented technology. Thus, in order for a company to practice the standard, the company was required to use technology that was covered by a standard-essential patent. Motorola (defendant) owned patents that were essential to the H.264 Standard. Motorola committed to license these patents on reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms. Microsoft (plaintiff) sought to license these patents. Motorola sent two letters to Microsoft offering a license under the Motorola patents that were essential to the H.264 Standard. Motorola sought a royalty of 2.25% of the price of Microsoft end products that used the technology in the patents. Microsoft stated that Motorola breached its RAND obligations by making an unreasonable offer in a negotiation to license Motorola’s patents. Microsoft sued Motorola for breach of contract.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Robart, J.)
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