ITC judge sides with Apple against Google on phone patent

(Reuters) - Google's Motorola Mobility unit cannot assert a patent against Apple Inc which covers a sensor that stops phone users from dialing wrong numbers on touchscreen devices, a U.S. trade judge ruled.

In an entry on the U.S. International Trade Commission docket on Tuesday, Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender ruled the Motorola patent invalid.

"We're disappointed with this outcome and are evaluating our options," Motorola spokeswoman Jennifer Weyrauch-Erickson said. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Apple has been litigating around the world against various manufacturers of phones that operate on Google's Android operating system. Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion this year, partly for its library of telecommunications patents.

The ITC, a U.S. trade panel that investigates patent infringement involving imported goods, is a popular venue for patent lawsuits because it can bar the importation of infringing products and because it issues decisions relatively quickly.

In August, the commission found that Apple had not violated three other Motorola patents, and ordered Pender to further examine the touchscreen sensor patent. The full ITC will now review Pender's latest ruling.

The case in the ITC is In the Matter of Certain Wireless Communication Devices, Portable Music and Data Processing Devices, Computers and Components Thereof, 337-745.

(Reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco; Editing by Ken Wills)

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FTC to delay Google anti-trust probe decision: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which had been expected to wrap up an anti-trust probe into Google within days, will now delay its decision for weeks, a source said on Tuesday.

Google has been accused of giving competitors in lucrative areas like travel a lower ranking in search results, thus making it harder for their customers to find them. Google has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz had hoped to wrap up the long-running investigation this month.

Talk of a potential settlement in recent days had suggested Google would emerge from the more than two-year probe with little more than a slap on the wrist from the commission.

The delay, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, came after the European Union took a hard line with the search engine giant on Tuesday in a parallel investigation.

The EU's antitrust chief, Joaquin Almunia, gave Google a month to come up with detailed proposals to resolve a two-year investigation into complaints that it used its power to block rivals, including Microsoft.

The European Commission has been examining informal settlement proposals from Google since July but has not sought feedback from the complainants, suggesting it is not convinced by what Google has put on the table so far.

Google's critics have accused it of a long list of wrongdoing - everything from putting its own products high up in search results to bring them business to "scraping" reviews of hotels and restaurants from other sites for its own products.

Google had reportedly been prepared to make some changes to its business practices to secure an end to the FTC investigation but had balked at allowing regulators to interfere with its search algorithm. The company was also apparently prepared to make concessions on certain patent infringement lawsuits.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz; Editing by Ros Krasny and Michael Perry)

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U.S. could wrap up Google probe this week: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators this week could drop their investigation of how Google ranks certain searches, without requiring any major changes in how the online giant does business, according to two people knowledgeable about the investigation.

Google had been accused of giving competitors in lucrative areas like travel a lower ranking in search results, thus making it harder for their customers to find them.

But the Federal Trade Commission is expected to conclude that Google's actions were legal and end its more than two-year probe of the company.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz has said he wanted the case wrapped up by the end of the year. He is widely expected to step down within a month but has not announced his resignation.

Google is expected to agree to some changes in its business practices, however. For example, it is expected to end the practice of "scraping," or using reviews from other websites, for its own products, the sources said.

And it is also expected to allow customers who use its advertising network to be able to export data on the effectiveness of those ad campaigns, the sources said.

Google and the FTC are also expected to reach an agreement on when the company can request sales bans when filing patent infringement lawsuits.

The company is expected to agree to strict conditions when filing these lawsuits if the patent in question has been determined to be essential to a standard, the sources said.

The European Commission, which is also probing Google on the issue of search fairness, is expected to announce a decision next month.

Google's U.S. critics, anticipating disappointment from the FTC, have already said they would take their evidence to the Justice Department to press the antitrust division to take up the case.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz)

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Apple's iPhone 5 starts strong in China but shares pressured

(Reuters) - Apple Inc sold more than 2 million iPhone 5s in China in just three days after its launch there on Friday, its best ever smartphone launch in the country, but Apple shares fell on Monday after Citi downgraded the stock.

The highly anticipated release in China, Apple's second-biggest market, has not eased worries about stiffer competition in mobile devices that has driven a slide in the share price of the world's most valuable technology company.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said last week that Apple had started cutting orders to iPhone suppliers to balance excess inventory.

Sales of Amazon.com Inc's cheaper Kindle Fire tablets have also surged this year and rival Microsoft Corp recently forayed into the market with its Surface.

Apple shares have fallen on seven of the last 10 trading days, with several analysts cutting their price targets on the company's stock.

The shares were down 1.3 percent at $502.76 in early trading on the Nasdaq. The stock has shed nearly 13 percent of its value since the beginning of this month to Friday's close.

Citi Research downgraded Apple's stock on Sunday to "neutral" from "buy", and lowered its price target to $575 from $675, citing diminishing hype around the iPhone 5 and improving competition in smartphones.

But Topeka Capital Markets remained upbeat, suggesting Chinese iPhone owners would upgrade from iPhone 4 models.

"The strong iPhone 5 sales this weekend support our view," Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White said in a research note on Monday.

"The iPhone 5 is all about the status upgrade. A new form factor shows the world that you have the latest and greatest iPhone, a sign of status in China."

Apple's latest iPhone, sporting a larger 4-inch screen and 4G capability, made its global debut with a launch in the United States and 30 other countries in September, selling more than 5 million in its first three days on the market.

This is the first time Apple has announced China sales numbers for the iPhone and Chief Executive Tim Cook said that this was the best first weekend sales ever in China.

Analysts, however, say the company's longer-term outlook in the China market may hinge on expanding its partners in that country to include China Mobile Ltd, the country's top telecoms carrier.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad and Sayantani Ghosh in BANGALORE and Melanie Lee in SHANGHAI; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

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Twitter offered Instagram $525 million deal: report

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Weeks before he accepted a $1 billion offer from Facebook Inc, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom had verbally agreed to sell his photo-sharing company to Twitter Inc for $525 million in March - but then called off the deal, according to a New York Times report citing unnamed sources.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ultimately acquired Instagram after pushing through a cash-and-stock deal just weeks before Facebook's May initial public offering. The transaction closed in September at a $715 million valuation, reflecting Facebook's stock drop since the offering.

During negotiations with Instagram, Twitter executives had handed Systrom a term sheet outlining the details of the proposed deal, the Times reported, but Systrom later told California state regulators under oath that his company had not received any "formal offers or term sheets" from potential buyers aside from Facebook.

Relations between Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have soured since Facebook successfully swooped for the photo service. Earlier this month Instagram shut off a functionality that allowed Twitter to display Instagram pictures, while Twitter introduced its own photo color-filters to compete with Instagram.

A spokeswoman for Facebook declined comment. Twitter could not be immediately reached for comment.

(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

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Apple says China iPhone 5 sales in first weekend top two million

(Reuters) - Apple Inc sold more than 2 million of its new iPhone 5 in China during the three days after its launch there on Friday, marking China's best-selling iPhone rollout ever, the company said late on Sunday.

"Customer response to iPhone 5 in China has been incredible, setting a new record with the best first weekend sales ever in China," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a statement.

Apple's latest iPhone, which offers a larger 4-inch screen and 4G capability, was launched in the United States and 30 other countries in September, when the company sold more than 5 million of the devices in the first three days.

The device's highly anticipated release in China, Apple's second-biggest market, failed to stop the recent share slide of the world's most valuable technology company, and analysts said Apple's longer-term China hopes may hinge on a partnership with China Mobile Ltd, the country's top telecoms carrier.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

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Apple falls on lower shipment forecasts, muted China debut

(Reuters) - Apple Inc shares fell 3.9 percent on Friday after the iPhone 5 debuted in China to a cool reception and two analysts cut shipment forecasts.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek trimmed his iPhone shipment estimates for the Jan-March quarter, saying that the technology company had started cutting orders to suppliers to balance excess inventory.

Shares of Apple suppliers Jabil Circuit Inc, Qualcomm Inc, Skyworks Solutions Inc, TriQuint Semiconductor Inc, Avago Technologies Ltd, and Cirrus Logic Inc also fell in early trading.

Apple shares have lost a quarter of their value since they hit a life high of $705.07 on September 21, as it faces increasing competition from phones using Google Inc's Android operating system.

Misek cut his first-quarter iPhone sales estimate to 48 million from 52 million and gross margin expectations for the company by 2 percentage points to 40 percent.

UBS Investment Research cut its price target on Apple stock to $700 from $780 on lower expected iPhone and iPad shipments for the March quarter.

The brokerage said it was modeling more conservative growth for the world's biggest technology company after making supply chain checks that revealed that fewer iPhones were being built.

"Some of our Chinese sources do not expect the iPhone 5 to do as well as the iPhone 4S," UBS analyst Steven Milunovich wrote in a note to clients.

Apple launched the iPhone 5 in China on Friday, a move widely expected to bring the Cupertino-based company some respite from a recent slide in market share in China, but early reports indicated that demand may not be as great as expected.

"The iPhone 5 China launch has been surprisingly muted but (we) are unsure how much weather (snow) or the required pre-ordering (to prevent riots) are factors," Misek said.

Apple shares fell as low as $508.50 in morning trading on the Nasdaq on Friday.

(Editing by Supriya Kurane)

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Microsoft, Motorola file to keep patent case details private

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp and Google Inc's Motorola Mobility unit have requested a federal judge in Seattle to keep secret from the public various details from their recent trial concerning the value of technology patents and the two companies' attempts at a settlement.

Microsoft and Motorola, acquired by Google earlier this year, are preparing post-trial briefs to present to a judge as he decides the outcome of a week-long trial last month to establish what rates Microsoft should pay Motorola for use of standard, essential wireless technology used in its Xbox game console and other products.

The case is just one strand of litigation in an industry-wide dispute over ownership of the underlying technology and the design of smartphones, which has drawn in Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Nokia and others.

In a filing with the Western District of Washington federal court in Seattle on Friday, Microsoft and Motorola asked the judge to allow them to file certain parts of their post-trial submissions under seal and redact those details in the public record.

The details concern terms of Motorola's licenses with third parties and Microsoft's business and marketing plans for future products. During the trial, which ran from November 13-20, U.S. District Judge James Robart cleared the court when such sensitive or trade secret details were discussed.

"For the same compelling reasons that the court sealed this evidence for purposes of trial, it would be consistent and appropriate to take the same approach in connection with the parties' post-trial submissions," the two companies argued in the court filing.

The judge has so far been understanding of the companies' desire to keep private details of their patent royalties and future plans, although that has perplexed some spectators who believe trials in public courts should be fully open to the public.

In addition, Motorola asked the judge to seal some documents relating to settlement negotiations between the two companies, arguing that keeping those details secret would encourage openness in future talks and make a settlement more likely.

Judge Robart is not expected to rule on the case until the new year.

The case in U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington is Microsoft Corp. vs. Motorola Inc., 10-cv-1823.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Richard Chang)

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Apple falls on lower shipment forecasts, muted China debut

(Reuters) - Apple Inc shares fell 3.9 percent on Friday after the iPhone 5 debuted in China to a cool reception and two analysts cut shipment forecasts.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek trimmed his iPhone shipment estimates for the Jan-March quarter, saying that the technology company had started cutting orders to suppliers to balance excess inventory.

Shares of Apple suppliers Jabil Circuit Inc, Qualcomm Inc, Skyworks Solutions Inc, TriQuint Semiconductor Inc, Avago Technologies Ltd, and Cirrus Logic Inc also fell in early trading.

Apple shares have lost a quarter of their value since they hit a life high of $705.07 on September 21, as it faces increasing competition from phones using Google Inc's Android operating system.

Misek cut his first-quarter iPhone sales estimate to 48 million from 52 million and gross margin expectations for the company by 2 percentage points to 40 percent.

UBS Investment Research cut its price target on Apple stock to $700 from $780 on lower expected iPhone and iPad shipments for the March quarter.

The brokerage said it was modeling more conservative growth for the world's biggest technology company after making supply chain checks that revealed that fewer iPhones were being built.

"Some of our Chinese sources do not expect the iPhone 5 to do as well as the iPhone 4S," UBS analyst Steven Milunovich wrote in a note to clients.

Apple launched the iPhone 5 in China on Friday, a move widely expected to bring the Cupertino-based company some respite from a recent slide in market share in China, but early reports indicated that demand may not be as great as expected.

"The iPhone 5 China launch has been surprisingly muted but (we) are unsure how much weather (snow) or the required pre-ordering (to prevent riots) are factors," Misek said.

Apple shares fell as low as $508.50 in morning trading on the Nasdaq on Friday.

(Editing by Supriya Kurane)

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Microsoft, Motorola file to keep patent case details private

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp and Google Inc's Motorola Mobility unit have requested a federal judge in Seattle to keep secret from the public various details from their recent trial concerning the value of technology patents and the two companies' attempts at a settlement.

Microsoft and Motorola, acquired by Google earlier this year, are preparing post-trial briefs to present to a judge as he decides the outcome of a week-long trial last month to establish what rates Microsoft should pay Motorola for use of standard, essential wireless technology used in its Xbox game console and other products.

The case is just one strand of litigation in an industry-wide dispute over ownership of the underlying technology and the design of smartphones, which has drawn in Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Nokia and others.

In a filing with the Western District of Washington federal court in Seattle on Friday, Microsoft and Motorola asked the judge to allow them to file certain parts of their post-trial submissions under seal and redact those details in the public record.

The details concern terms of Motorola's licenses with third parties and Microsoft's business and marketing plans for future products. During the trial, which ran from November 13-20, U.S. District Judge James Robart cleared the court when such sensitive or trade secret details were discussed.

"For the same compelling reasons that the court sealed this evidence for purposes of trial, it would be consistent and appropriate to take the same approach in connection with the parties' post-trial submissions," the two companies argued in the court filing.

The judge has so far been understanding of the companies' desire to keep private details of their patent royalties and future plans, although that has perplexed some spectators who believe trials in public courts should be fully open to the public.

In addition, Motorola asked the judge to seal some documents relating to settlement negotiations between the two companies, arguing that keeping those details secret would encourage openness in future talks and make a settlement more likely.

Judge Robart is not expected to rule on the case until the new year.

The case in U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington is Microsoft Corp. vs. Motorola Inc., 10-cv-1823.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Richard Chang)

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