Wisconsin firm sues Motorola over wireless video technology
A small company that developed wireless video filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court alleging Motorola Inc. used its technology in the Razr and Moto Q phones without compensation and infringed on the company's patent rights.
Neenah, Wis.,-based Memorylink Corp., which has its engineering and other operations in Rolling Meadows, also said Motorola continued to promise a partnership but never signed a definitive agreement.
"They added themselves to the patent application and didn't do any of the technology at all," said Mike Femal, a patent attorney representing Memorylink with McDonald Hopkins LLC in Chicago.
Motorola believes Memorylink's claims are without merit and intends to defend itself against the allegations, Motorola spokeswoman Jennifer Erickson said.
"Throughout all its dealings with Memorylink, Motorola acted in good faith and in compliance with the written agreements between the two companies," Erickson said. "While discussions to resolve this matter have been held, Memorylink has continued to make demands that are entirely unreasonable under the circumstances."
The Razr, an ultra-thin mobile phone that changed the industry in 2004, has sold millions worldwide. The Moto Q smartphone launched in 2006.
In 1997-98, Peter Strandwitz and Bob Kniskern founded Memorylink and focused on wireless technology. Motorola expressed an interest in the video technology and discussed partnering with the start-up, Femal said.
Motorola also encouraged the men to file a patent on the wireless video and offered to file the applications when the company didn't have the money or legal counsel.
"(Memorylink) didn't know what was included because nothing was explained to them," Femal said.
Memorylink was unable to get Motorola to sign any type of partnership agreement or receive any compensation for the video technology, Femal said.
Memorylink's lawsuit seeks to remove Motorola from the patent, to retrieve its intellectual property and to obtain compensation for its use.