Bloomberg reports that Apple and Google-owned Motorola Mobility are looking at binding arbitration as a way of settling the ongoing smartphone patent disputes between the two companies, citing court documents filed last week.
The two companies have exchanged proposals regarding arbitration, with Apple saying in documents filed on 15 November “Apple is also interested in resolving its dispute with Motorola completely and agrees that arbitration may be the best vehicle to resolve the parties’ dispute.”
Motorola Mobility first brought up the possibility of arbitration on 5 November this year and Google legal representative Kent Walker said in a letter to Apple, filed with the court on 13 November, “We have long sought a path to resolving patent issues and we welcome the chance to build on the constructive dialogue between our companies. While we prefer to seek a framework for a global (rather than piecemeal) resolution that addresses all of our patent disputes, we are committed to reaching agreement on a license for our respective standard-essential patents.”
If Apple and Google/Motorola Mobility were to reach such an agreement via arbitration the results would have implications for other Android devices. Strategy Analytics analyst Alex Spektor is quoted as saying “It’s in everyone’s best interest in the industry to pull back and reach some sort of equilibrium. Google could offer a certain level of protection to licensees who comply with whatever standard it puts in place.”
Source: Bloomberg