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July 16, 2012

Fujifilm Joins Six Others in Patent Infringement Suit Against Android

Japan’s Fujifilm has sued Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility for Android's alleged infringement of four of its patents. Fujifilm has mostly played a defensive role in patent litigation, which has resulted in judgment actions or countersuits.

According to a report, the Japanese company has been unsuccessfully trying since April 2011 to work out a license deal. Consequently, it is the seventh company with a multi-billion dollar market cap to assert intellectual property (IP) rights against Android in court.

Targeting Android are six other publicly traded companies with multibillion dollar market caps.These include iPhone maker Apple with a market cap of $565.68 billion, Oracle with a market cap of $144.42 billion, Microsoft with $246.9 billion cap, Gemalto with a cap of $6.52 billion, British Telecom with $27.02 billion cap and Nokia with $6.89 billion cap.

With Fujifilm ($8.47 billion), the seven companies represent a total combined market cap of $1.06 trillion. By comparison, according to the report, Google’s market cap is $188 billion. The collective market capitalization is based on the Friday July 13th closing.

"The companies who claim that Google's Android infringes on their intellectual property are too diverse to believe in a conspiracy," said the report.

By contrast, except for reactive or pre-emptive lawsuits filed by Android device makers, Apple has been sued in recent years by only two large companies—Eastman Kodak and Nokia.  In fact, Nokia suit was settled last year.

Hence, unlike Google, the report would like to know what steers Apple to do a better job with respect to infringement litigations. "Does it do a better job at working out license deals or non-aggression pacts with others in the industry? Honestly, I don't know what Apple does because they obviously don't tell the public what their dealings with other industry players are like,” said the report.

 But, according to the report, Apple indicates that the commercial success of a platform is only one of the relevant factors. Hence, Android's IP issues are not simply a function of its market share. “There must be some more fundamental problems," said the report.




Want to learn more about today’s powerful mobile Internet ecosystem? Then be sure to attend the Mobility Tech Conference & Expo, collocated with ITEXPO West 2012 taking place Oct. 2-5 2012, in Austin, TX. Co-sponsored by TMC Partner Crossfire Media the Mobility Tech Conference & Expo provides unmatched networking opportunities and a robust conference program representing the mobile ecosystem. The conference not only brings together the best and brightest in the wireless industry, it actually spans the communications and technology industry. For more information on registering for the Mobility Tech Conference & Expo click here.

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Edited by Brooke Neuman


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