Last week the Motorola company succeeded for the first time in history to block the sales of some iDevices in Germany. Apple obtained a suspension of that ban just a few hours after it was imposed, but then information about Motorola's licensing proposals came to light. I told you on Saturday that Motorola would have asked for 2.25% from the money collected by Apple from the sale of its iDevices and now we find out that this amount would represent over 1 billion dollars that Motorola demands from Apple.
The Wall Street Journal confirmed the number, which would represent over $1 billion in iPhone sales during 2011. The proof comes from a letter dated Oct.17 and filed with a California court, although it does not list specific devices that would be affected. WSJ reported lawyers see the high royalty request as a way to "force a settlement or disrupt business."
It seems that this request made by Motorola would have the role of forcing those from Apple to accept the terms or to be put in a situation where certain iDevices will no longer come. Unfortunately for Motorola, FRAND patents must be licensed on fair, equal and non-discriminatory terms, so their tactics may not bring them any long-term victory. Apple is now trying to prove that Motorola did not want to license FRAND technologies according to European rules and if it succeeds in proving this then the 2.25% percentage requested by Motorola will certainly become much lower.
