Intellectual-VenturesFor the first time ever, Intellectual Ventures finds itself in patent court this week.

The Bellevue-based company run by former Microsoft technology chief Nathan Myhrvold is in a battle with Google’s Motorola Mobility unit over patents relating to smartphone technologies. Intellectual Ventures originally sued Motorola back in 2011 and was ultimately unsuccessful in reaching a licensing deal.

As a result, the court will decide. The 10-day trial involves three patents owned by Intellectual Ventures and will begin on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

Intellectual Ventures, a 13-year-old firm, has been subject of much controversy in the tech industry over its business practices, including this scathing report by This American Life. But the company is reportedly slowing down its patent buying in recent months as it looks to raise as much as $3 billion in capital.

This week’s trial is notable in part due to the ongoing relationship between the two sides. Google, which invested Intellectual Ventures’ first fund, told Reuters this past October that it elected not to for a second time.

“We joined Intellectual Ventures’ first fund as a way to defend ourselves against unjustified patent claims,” Google spokesman Matt Kallman said. “Once we came to understand IV’s operating model, we didn’t join its later funds.”

Motorola was acquired by Google for $12.5 billion in 2011 as the search giant gained access to Motorola’s patent portfolio. Google recently battled Microsoft in court in another high-profile patent case concerning Motorola, ultimately losing out to the Redmond software company.

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