A Pivotal Fight Over ‘Essential Patents’ – The Wall Street Journal.

A Pivotal Fight Over ‘Essential Patents’

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304746604577383861850080498.html

Microsoft Corp. MSFT +0.65%and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. will get their day in a Seattle court Monday, as a federal judge considers whether they are unfairly wielding patents involving standard technologies.

At issue is whether Motorola has violated its contract for licensing technology considered part of an industry standard. Patent owners are expected to license their technology on reasonable terms once it becomes part of a standard. Motorola’s patents for video streaming and Wi-Fi are essential for mobile and entertainment devices and Microsoft adopted them for use in products including its core Windows operating system.