Apple says it would pay $1 per Apple iPhone to Motorola to license FRAND patents

Apple's attorneys told the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin that it would be willing to pay $1 per Apple iPhone to Motorola Mobility for the rights to certain standards-essential patents. But Apple's legal team warned that if the court sets a FRAND rate of over $1 for the patents, it will appeal the decision and fight using all options open to it. Apple's offer came after Motorola filed a motion for clarification and comes just five days before a trial is supposed to begin.

With Microsoft about to go to trial on November 13th over FRAND patents, that company said it would agree to pay court-ordered terms to license standards-essential patents. Apple might have wanted to go on record as showing a willingness to settle the case with Motorola before possibly getting locked into a precedent based on what the court rules in the Microsoft case. Apple might also feel that it is dealing from strength in this case since Motorola Mobility's own expert witness can't testify to an appropriate licensing fee. Additionally, most pre-trial rulings have been resolved in Apple's favor.

Apple added that at next week's trial that it will use expert testimony and "copious real-world evidence" which includes "Motorola's other licenses which Apple says will point to a ceiling for how much Motorola can charge Apple for its FRAND patents. Apple also responded to a Motorola Mobility request for the Wisconsin court to allow a German court hearing a similar case to set a separate FRAND rate for Germany. Apple responded that since the Wisconsin case pre-dates the one in Germany, any rate that the Wisconsin court decides on should cover world-wide licensing terms.

source: Electronista