Apple and Motorola recently came to a rare agreement on patents in the German courts for Apple to pay a set per-device fee to license a bunch of “standard-essential” Motorola-held patents from the Google-owned company.
What that fee is, however, has not yet been settled. But in a separate US case, Apple has just revealed what it considers the maximum it is willing to pay Motorola to use its intellectual property: $1 per iPhone.
FOSS Patents reveals that ahead of a case next week in Wisconsin to try and find a set fee both sides are happy with for Apple to use Moto's patents without legal dispute, Apple has openly declared it will only accept such a deal if the total per-unit royalty doesn't exceed $1.
As long as that's the case, Apple will agree to the court-set FRAND rate (Fair, Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory) on the spot.
If it's more than that, Apple says it will appeal the decision and we'll be in for the usual exhaustive legal to and fro before a single dollar is handed over. Well, except to the lawyers.
