Maureen O'Gara

Looks like a US district court is going to tell Motorola Mobility - and its master Google - exactly how much they can charge for the standards-essential patents they've been using to try to get injunctions blocking companies like Microsoft and Apple from marketing their products because they won't pay the outrageous terms demanded.

There's going to be a bench trial on November 13 in the Microsoft case asking that Motorola meet its FRAND obligations.

In a decision Wednesday blocking Motorola's injunction designs, Judge James Robart - who barred Motorola from enforcing the FRAND-related injunctions it got in Germany - said he's going to decide a FRAND royalty range and - to avoid more bickering - he's also going to decide a FRAND royalty rate.

FOSS Patent says "the judge wants to make sure that when his court is done with this, a standard-essential patent license agreement will be in place to take care of this for good (apart from any appeals, of course)."

However, Motorola may not have much luck appealing to the Ninth Circuit, which backed up Judge Robart's unconventional German play.

Anyway after the judge rules, a jury will get to decide if Motorola's original $4 billion royalty demand was made in bad faith.

In a summary judgment Judge Robart's previously found that Motorola has a contractual obligation to grant Microsoft a FRAND license.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that the Justice Department's antitrust investigation of Google has spread to its FRAND practices. The European Commission is investigation both Motorola and Samsung's FRAND practices.