Today’s mobile news roundup features: Motorola filing new patent claim against Apple; Apple-Samsung trial nears end; HTC’s $40M investment loss; and Eva Restaurant offering discounts for checking your phone at the door.

Motorola files new patent claims

Days  before an important ruling is expected to come out, Motorola filed new patent claims against Apple for allegedly infringing seven of their patents, which cover email notifications, location reminders and media playback functions.  The said patents don’t appear to be standards-essentials, which could mean Motorola can request to ban Apple devices caught infringing their patents.

The new filing, according to patent expert Florian Mueller, may have been driven by three factors: first, is that their first case against Apple is deemed weak; second, is that since Google acquired Motorola, it has yet to prove that is a good buy; and third, is that it is deemed Apple has the upperhand in the case against Samsung so Google might be questioned as to what happened to the “patent peace” they promised about a year ago.

Apple-Samsung trial jury deliberation starts later this week

Though most people will argue that the Samsung-Apple dispute will not end when the trial ends, the US trial in San Jose, California, may soon come to an end as jury deliberations could start later this week.  Both parties are given two hours to deliver their closing arguments on Tuesday and after that, the fate of the trial will rest upon nine jury members.  They will be given a series of yes or no questions to come up with an answer to the question, “Did Samsung copy Apple’s devices?”

But it’s not as simple as that.  The questions that the jury have to answer will still be deliberated.  According to Wall Street Journal, Samsung wants very detailed questionnaires that would help jurors determine whether “different applications within a phone, like the contacts and the Web browser, infringe certain patents.”  The detailed questionnaires might help Samsung avert paying Apple damages.  As for Apple, the iPhone maker wants a more streamlined approach, meaning they want the questionnaire to be as simple as possible.

HTC’s $40M investment loss

HTC, like any other company, often risks lots of money in investing in other companies they believe could be an asset or somehow help their own efforts.  But there’s always a chance that the investment will crash and burn.  It looks like HTC has been betting on the underdogs, but things may not be going as planned.

In 2011, HTC invested in the cloud gaming company OnLive.  Though the company is fairing well against competition, things took a sudden turn for the worst when their top competitor, Gaikai, was acquired by Sony.  OnLive applied for “assets restructuring”, wherein the company was bought by their old investor Lauder Partners.  Unfortunately, as OnLive said in their press release regarding the issue, “neither OnLive, Inc. shares nor OnLive staff could transfer under this type of transaction.”  Simply put, HTC’s investment was for naught.

“Due to lack of operating cash and an inability to raise new capital, OnLive had completed asset restructuring over the weekend. HTC estimates that it will need to recognize a $40m [£25m] provision for this investment loss,” an HTC statement read.

Eva Restaurant offers a discount if you check your phone at the door

If you’re looking for a place for a romantic dinner, away from people who just cannot stop talking on their phone, then Eva Restaurant might be the perfect spot for you.  See, the restaurant offers a discount to anyone who checks their phone at the door.  I don’t know about you, but I’m not one to pass up discounts.

“Eva is home, we want to create that environment of home, and we want people to connect again,” owner and chef Mark Gold said.  “It’s about two people sitting together and just connecting, without the distraction of a phone, and we’re trying to create an ambience where you come in and really enjoy the experience and the food and the company.”