Microsoft wins Motorola Android patent case

Microsoft has won a courtroom victory after the US International Trade Commission (ITC) found Motorola in violation of Microsoft patents concerning mobile scheduling and meeting tools.

The ruling gives Microsoft an initial victory in its patent war with Android handset vendors, and involved one of many patent infringement complaints levelled at Motorola Mobility in an October 2010 filing.

The ruling is the latest in a string of legal decisions surrounding Android. Earlier this week, Apple claimed victory over HTC in an ITC hearing on mobile handset patents.

The acquisition of intellectual property is said to have been a major factor behind Google's decision to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn.

Intellectual property law expert Florian Mueller believes that the heaviest litigation is yet to come.

"For Apple, Microsoft and everyone else embroiled in the smartphone patent lawsuits, this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint," Mueller said in a posting to the FOSS Patents blog.

"The ones who can actually sit back and relax are those who have concluded licence deals with Microsoft (or other patent holders) and don't have to worry about possible or actual import bans, possible or impossible workarounds, or further escalation."