German Court Rules That Motorola Violates Microsoft’s FAT Patent

FOSS Patents: A German court has ruled in Microsoft’s favor in a patent lawsuit it brought against Google-owned Motorola Mobility. The patent in question related to File Allocation Table (FAT) technology, which Microsoft owns and Motorola uses in its Android smartphones. Most other smartphone manufacturers who build Android devices pay Microsoft a royalty for FAT technology.

As a result of the ruling, Microsoft can ask the court to impose a sales ban, to recall Motorola devices and/or to require Motorola to pay damages. Motorola could also be required to use a different file system in its smartphones unless it starts paying royalties to Microsoft.