Skip to main content

Motorola ordered to cough up $10 million to Fujifilm for patent infringement

Fujifilm X-T1 camera review sensor
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Motorola Mobility hit a bit of a snag earlier today when a court ordered the Lenovo-owned company to pay $10 million to Fujifilm for using its patented technology without permission, reports Reuters.

This patent riff-raff began in 2012, when Fujifilm originally sued Motorola for $40 million. Fujifilm argued that Motorola infringed on four of its patents, three of which dealt with digital camera functions. Unfortunately for Fujifilm, the San Francisco jury concluded that Motorola only infringed on one of the four patents: a patent that deals with converting color images to monochrome.

Motorola wanted to cancel all of the four patents Fujifilm brought forth, arguing they were either relatively old or didn’t stand out when compared to similarly patented inventions. The jury only saw eye to eye with Motorola on three of the four patents and decided that Motorola did infringe on the fourth patent. The end result is that Motorola was ordered to pay Fujifilm significantly less than what Fujifilm originally sought.

Regardless, it looks like Motorola doesn’t want to be on the hook for that fourth patent. “We are pleased with the verdict related to three out of the four patents and are evaluating our options on the one patent on which we did not prevail,” said Motorola spokesperson William Moss in an email sent to Reuters.

Motorola’s response isn’t surprising and could indicate that the company is willing to draw this patent battle out. Given its four-year patent battle with Apple and year-long dispute with Microsoft, Motorola seems to be very familiar with patent disputes. Motorola ended its patent trial with Apple by agreeing with the Cupertino-based company to dismiss all patent litigation. Meanwhile, its patent dispute with Microsoft was tossed out by the International Trade Commission (ITC).

Editors' Recommendations

Williams Pelegrin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
Motorola MA1 gives your car wireless Android Auto
The Motorola MA1 wireless adapter for Android Auto.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are game-changing smartphone interfaces, and now wireless versions of both systems are rolling out in new cars. If you've got an older car with wired Android Auto only, though, Motorola is unveiling a way to cut the cord at CES 2022.

The Motorola MA1 is an adapter that can add wireless Android Auto to existing cars. Motorola said in a press release that it licenses the technology from Google. Since the company hasn't made a similar arrangement with Apple, CarPlay users are out of luck for now.

Read more
A new affordable Motorola smartwatch could be coming by the end of the year
Moto 360 ambient display

A new Motorola-branded smartwatch is on its way for a launch by the end of the year, according to a press release shared by CE Brands, the current owners of the Motorola brand for smartwatches. The company has claimed to have already completed work on a Moto Watch 100, branding it an affordable premium smartwatch that will be going into mass production over the next month.

"Our newest smartwatch, the Moto Watch 100, which is designed for an entry-level price point, is scheduled to begin mass production in November 2021. With several major retailers in line for initial orders to test the product, we believe the Motorola brand coupled with an affordable premium-feeling smartwatch has the potential to be a truly disruptive product," the release reads.

Read more
Motorola Edge Hands-on review: A midrange phone with flagship aspirations
Motorola Edge with screen on.

The midrange phone market is sparse in the U.S., with most phones costing closer to $1,000 or lower than $400 and very few well-known brands in between aside from the newly-launched Google Pixel 5a and the Samsung Galaxy A52. The Motorola Edge now joins this crowd, hitting the U.S. market at a $700 price point, though it’ll start at $200 off at launch.

It’s also worth pointing out that the Motorola Edge isn’t exactly a copycat of the Moto Edge 20 that’s being released in international markets alongside the Edge 20 Lite and Edge 20 Pro. While both models have lots of similarities, the two big differences from overseas markets are that the U.S. model has a 6.8-inch screen and a larger 5,000mAh battery. The logic behind this differentiation isn’t entirely clear, but it does give U.S. customers an edge in battery runtime compared to international buyers.

Read more