MOTOROLA TAKES OFFENSIVE AGAINST APPLE

Motorola has asked a judge in Delaware to invalidate 24 patents Apple is using to sue HTC.  According to the lawsuit, Motorola and Apple have been in negotiations to license each others patents and avoid legal actions.  Motorola is new suing Apple with three lawsuits and an International Trade Commission complaint over what it claims are 18 violations of their patents.

Apple sued HTC earlier this year claiming infringment on 24 of its patents related to graphical user interfaces and other technologies.  The lawsuit is aimed squarely at Google's Android operating system.  Motorola is trying to have the patents declared invalid in a preemptive move before Apple comes after them.  f

Motorola is also facing a set of lawsuits by Microsoft for nine counts of patent infringement, also related to Motorola's use of Android.

 Should software patents be valid, especially if they are obvious and common?  Tell us your thoughts in the comments section. [Ars Technica]