Final Witness Testifies in Microsoft v Google Patent Battle

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On Tuesday, in a week-long trial in a Seattle federal court, the last expert witness finished giving evidence. The expert witness on behalf of Google said that Microsoft will make about $94 billion in revenue through 2017 by using Google’s patented wireless technology in Xbox game consoles and Surface tablets.

The battle originated from a previous dispute between Motorola and Microsoft over patent revenues and while Motorola demanded up to $4 billion a year for the wireless and video patents, Microsoft refused to give more than $1 million a year.

Michael Dansky, the expert who testified on behalf of Google’s Motorola unit, also included a wireless adapter that Microsoft no longer sells within his calculations.

  

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The present battle is only a part of the global patent war waging between technology giants like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung etc., with every company intent on creating edges to bargain with while deciding their dominion on the smartphone market. The swift and overwhelming rise and acceptance of smartphone technology by the populace has precipitated the patent wars being fought in the courts of countries across the world between the same companies.

Of recent, the Apple-Samsung war has been most bitter with both rivals, at the same time dependent on one another, and on the other hand trying to ban each other’s products in different global markets.

Though earlier, U.S. District Judge James Robart had been of the opinion that the patent license agreements between the companies can be disclosed to the public, he reversed himself this week and cited appellate precedent to keep relevant information secret. On Tuesday, at least two hours of testimony was made in secret.

During the open session, the expert witness Dansky said, Motorola’s patents are vital for smartphone companies and “You will have a difficult time selling smart phones or tablets.”