UPDATED 08:48 EDT / NOVEMBER 10 2010

Round 2: Microsoft vs. Motorola, Role Reversal for Android Fragmentation

For the second time in around, Microsoft has filed another lawsuit against mobile phone giant Motorola. This move likely has something to do with the alleged discriminatory royalties rates for technology the software maker uses in its Xbox360 game console.

According to AllThingsD, a spokesperson from Microsoft said in an interview, “[These] commitments are designed to benefit all parties that rely upon these standards, and Microsoft has been harmed by Motorola’s failure to honor them in recent demand letters seeking royalties from Microsoft.”

The first lawsuit filed by Bill Gates’ company against Motorola was due to patent violations. According to the reports, Microsoft has fervently  accused Motorola of breaching commitments made to organizations including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE and the International Telecommunications Union for “reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions” in patent licenses for different wireless and video-coding technologies.

This edition is yet another development in what is said to be the year of information technology and software soap opera. Almost every day, corporate wars on and of the federal courts make headlines in papers and online forums. Last August Oracle sued Google over its Java software used in Android. Two months after, Apple chased Motorola for smartphones patent infringements on the iPhone maker’s intellectual property. Apple also waged war against HTC for the same accusations. Other court battles lined up include Oracle VS SAP, Facebook vs Google and more. It seems that the ecosystem of software developers and technologies is still in chaos.

Microsoft is merely arming itself for mobile mayhem, as Windows Phone 7 enters a competitive market.  The entrance of another major player has raised questions as to how Microsoft will handle things, like ongoing updates for their mobile OS, or marketplace app approval, with Microsoft noting yesterday that they  “will push Windows Phone 7 software updates to end users and all Windows Phone 7 devices will be eligible for updates.”

Wired notes the flipped roles this presents for Microsoft and Android, saying, “What is distinctly odd is that some roles seem to have switched. Android is now the equivalent to desktop Windows, riddled with fragmented OS versions, uncountable hardware options and all the associated crapware and malware its ‘open’ platform brings.  Apple now seems to be selling its non-Mac hardware cheaper than anyone else can manage, and Microsoft, despite its insistence on using the Windows name for a non-windowing phone OS, has grown a pair and is now pushing the hardware makers around.”


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