Apple, Motorola in patent struggle in Germany

News: Page (1) of 1 - 02/03/12

Apple, Motorola in patent struggle in Germany Apple for now halts Motorola attempt to have iPhones withdrawn from online store in Germany By The Associated Press

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ' Apple Inc. has temporarily blocked Motorola Mobility's attempt to have it withdraw several iPhone and iPad models from its Internet store in Germany, the latest twist in an extended legal duel over patents between the companies.

The sale of the devices was briefly halted after Libertyville, Ill.-based Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. enforced a ruling it won against Ireland-based Apple Sales International Inc., from a court in Mannheim, Germany.

The court had earlier ruled that Apple should not be using Motorola's mobile technology in the devices without a license.

Motorola Mobility moved to enforce the decision and Apple announced Thursday it was halting online sales. A few hours later, Apple said it had won a suspension from an appeals court in Karlsruhe.

"All iPad and iPhone models will be back on sale through Apple's online store in Germany shortly," Apple said in a statement. "Apple appealed this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago."

Apple says Motorola Mobility has refused to license the technology even though Motorola agreed it should be an industry standard.

In a statement Friday, Motorola Mobility said it will continue to pursue claims against Apple. It said Apple had refused to negotiate in good faith.

The devices in question were the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3Gs and the iPhone4 and UMTS-capable iPads ' but not the iPhone 4S.

Florian Mueller, an intellectual property consultant who has been reporting on the cases on his blog FOSS Patents, said that the wording of the Karlsruhe decision only suspends enforcement of the decision until the court can hear a response from Motorola.

"This is a very, very temporary suspension," said Mueller. "Apple could be in the same situation again a week or two down the road."

The two companies are also at odds over what Motorola Mobility says is improper use of its push email technology that sends email to smartphones. The Mannheim court ruled in Motorola's favor Thursday, but Apple said it would appeal and that people using its phones would keep getting their email.

Page: 1

Related Keywords:EU-Germany-Apple-Motorola, Corporate legal affairs, Technology, Consumer electronics, Patents, Mobile communications, Communication technology, Corporate news, Business, Telecommunications, Industries, Intellectual property
Related Sites: Creative Mac , AEC Newsroom , Digital Webcast , Digital Producer , Hollywood Industry , Media Workstation , Digital Video Editing , Digital CAD , IBC News , Digital Animators , Animation Artist , Siggraph News , Audio Video Producer , BN - Broadcast Newsroom , Corporate Media News , Digital Game Developer , Digital Media Designer , MacAnimationPro , Digital Post Production , DTV Pro , DVD Creation , DV Format , Film Imaging , HD Issues , Presentation Master , MacDVDPro , MacVideoPro , MacAudioPro , MacDesignPro , After Effects , CEN - Consumer Electronics Net , PhotoShop , Final Cut Pro , Illustrator , Vegas , Premiere , Digital Intermediates , CEN - Camcorders , CEN - AV Software , CEN - Photography , CEN - Desktops , CEN - Audio , CEN - Toys , CEN - DVD , CEN - Gadgets , CEN - Games , CEN - PDAs , CEN - HomeOffice , CEN - HomeTheatre , CEN - Movies , CEN - Music , CEN - Notebooks , CEN - Peripherals , CEN - Phones , CEN - TVs , CEN - WiFi , Maxon , Storage , DVD Studio Pro , Flash , IBN - Storage , CEN - iPod , Motion , IBN - Business , IBN - Enterprise Applications , IBN - Hardware , IBN - Networking , IBN - Internet , IBN - ProductivityApps , IBN - Security , IBN - SoftwareDev , BN - NAB , CEN - Web , BN - Webcast , BN - HD , BN - DTV , BN - IBC , BN - Production , BN - Avid , BN - Acquistion , BN - Radio , BN - Storage , BN - Harris , BN - Panasonic , BN - JVC , BN - Quantel , BN - Grass Valley , BN - Hardware , BN - Software , BN - Facilities , BN - People , BN - Canon , BN - Sony , BN - Miranda , Podcasts , USDailyNews , BN - Sports , BN - Religious , VideoBasedTutorials , BN - Encoding , IBN - Cloud , HTN - Health Technology Net
Related Newsletter: DMN Newsletter , CMN Newsletter , Timeline Newsletter , CADList Newsletter , Pixels Newsletter , Levels Newsletter , Loud Newsletter , Renders , Streamline Newsletter , KNews Newsletter , DVD Viewpoint , BN - HD Weekly , CEN - Gadgets Newsletter , Tutorial Finder , Review Seeker , IBN - IT Weekly Newsletter , BN - Broadcast Newswire