Apple: Motorola Failed to Disclose Data

Apple Inc. (AAPL) sought another court order to get Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) to turn over information about its pending acquisition by Google Inc. and development of the Android software operating system. U.S. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner in Chicago issued the March 5 order in a patent lawsuit filed in 2010 by Cupertino, California-based Apple against Motorola Mobility, which has countersued. In a court filing yesterday, lawyers for Apple asked the judge to require Motorola to produce the documents and identify its witnesses no later than March 23. “In spite of the court’s order and Apple’s numerous follow-up letters, Motorola has still not produced the requested documents or designated any witnesses,” Apple said in the filing. “Instead, Motorola waited until today -- nearly two weeks from the court’s order -- to provide only vague indications that it would comply.” Apple, maker of the iPhone, has been waging a global fight with the former Motorola Inc. unit that sells phones using Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system. Posner, a federal appeals court judge who is presiding over the trial court-level case, has scheduled back-to-back trials before separate juries starting June 11. The first will address six Apple patents, and the second will cover three Motorola patents. Motorola Mobility was spun off from Motorola Inc., now Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI) Jennifer Erickson, a spokeswoman for the Libertyville, Illinois-based company, didn’t have an immediate comment yesterday. A representative at Google didn’t immediately return an e-mailed request for comment. The case is Apple Inc. v. Motorola Inc., 11-cv-08540, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).