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BREACH OF CONTRACT
Jury Finds Motorola in Breach of Contract for
Failing to Offer RAND Royalty
By Mark A. McCarty, Matthew D. Richardson and Dwayne C. Norton
A recent jury verdict in the
Microsoft Corp. v. Motorola, Inc.
, No. 2:10-cv-01823-JLR (W.D. Wash.) law-
suit marked the end of a two-phase trial on whether Motorola breached its commitment to two
standard-setting organizations (SSOs) to license its patents on reasonable and non-discriminatory
(RAND) terms. The first phase was a bench trial before Judge Robart in the Western District of
Washington to determine a RAND rate and range for the standard-essential patents (SEPs) in issue.
The second phase was a jury trial to determine whether Motorola’s conduct (primarily offering
licenses at a rate that exceeded a RAND offer) was a breach of its commitment to license its SEPs
on RAND terms.
