A Chicago court ruling says Google and Motorola Mobility must provide Apple with detailed information regarding the purchase and development of Android.
Bloomberg reports that Google and Motorola Mobility must turn over information to Apple about the 2005 acquisition and further development of the Android operating system. They must also disclose to Apple information surrounding Google's pending $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility.
The order was made on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago) by U.S. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner who is currently presiding over a court-level patent lawsuit filed by Apple in 2010 against Motorola Mobility.
Posner, usually a federal appeals court judge, seems to agree with Apple's attorneys in that the "Android/Motorola acquisition discovery is highly relevant to Apple's claims and defenses," granting Apple's motion for the requested information.
In a response to Apple's motion, Motorola argued to leave Google out of the lawsuit, as Google’s employees and documents are not within the 'possession, custody, or control' of Motorola. "Motorola cannot force Google to produce documents or witnesses over Google’s objections," lawyers for Motorola Mobility said.
Company lawyers also argued that Google's acquisition of Motorola and Android has nothing to do with any damages asserted in the case. Yet Google has agreed to comply with all discovery requests that seek information relevant to the case. Google will even provide witnesses for deposition, Motorola Mobility's attorneys said.
Back-to-back trials before separate juries will begin on June 11. The first trial will address Apple's six patent claims whereas the other trial will cover Motorola's three patent claims.
Fear. Simple fear. Imagine if Google had the ability to just design phones for Android and then the others built around it. Instead of Google relying on someone else they would have total control.
It would be more like Apple and the iPhone and Apple fears that if that happens, Android would spread faster and take more of that money grubbing companies market share.
Android itself is better than iOS, thats a given. But if Google can design their own phones it will change the game quite a bit.
It would be the same as if Microsoft started to design their own phones for Windows 8 instead of relying on other companies.
Thats not to say there wont be other Android phones from other manufactures, but Google having their own phones makes Apple shake.
And instead of rising to the challenge and fighting properly, they will try to stop it from ever happening.
Its pathetic they try to stiffle the entire industry and pretend they are protecting things they invented. They need to stop this crap, innovation and openness is what will drive technology. Apple is the complete opposite of that and just slows things up. I cant wait til they burn out again and go back to being mediocre so they stop screwing things up for the rest of us.