FTC calls Motorola's bid for Apple product injunction 'inappropriate'
On December 5, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated in a filed brief that it felt a previous district court decision to deny Motorola's bid for an injunction of several Apple products was correct.
Motorola had claimed that Apple's iPhone and iPad allegedly infringed on wireless patents, and requested that the courts block Apple from selling iPhones and iPads in the United States. The FTC brief said that a court-ordered injunction is inappropriate when the holder of a patent has licensed it under fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms.
The FTC felt that Motorola might have been using the threat of an injunction in what is called "patent hold-up." When a patent is considered standard-essential (SEP), the patent owner sometimes threatens legal action to get higher than usual royalty rates and licensing terms.
For budding Apple lawyers, the brief can be found here in its entirety.
