Quote:
Originally Posted by elcreative
Of course, if you read the source material then you'll also find that the patent is on included in the FRAND arrangements that set payments at a fair and reasonable level which Motorola have done with existing licensees but in Apple's case wanted to charge them far higher than other licensees... guess what, Apple were not happy and have consistently tried to arrange fair licensing in line with the rates others are charged... and this is only the start of things being the outcome of one regional court in Germany (which, contrary to some views, isn't Europe just part of it) and has absolutely no legal effect in the rest of Europe, there are many more years of legal action and happy lawyers to come...  |
Um, no.
FRAND rates are, I believe, set with respect to using and paying for the rights going forward. But, like taxes, if you neglect to pay them when you are legally required to, the rates go up for retroactive payments. Penalties, punitive damages, whatever you call it, the basic principle is if you try to "shoplift" and you get caught, you can't always get out of it by paying the retail price, let alone demanding the VIP discount.
Apple's latest offer is to pay everything going forward, but only as long as the can continue to challenge the patent retroactivly. Which is like saying we accept the patent and reject it at the same time.