Motorola wins permanent injunction against Apple's iCloud in German court (update: products pulled)

There's another legal brouhaha brewing in Germany, where Motorola today won an injunction against Apple's iCloud. In a decision handed down from the infamous Mannheim Regional Court this morning, Judge Andreas Voss issued a permanent injunction against Cupertino's cloud-based service and any devices that use it, following a complaint that Motorola originally filed in April of last year. The two companies, as you may recall, have been going at each other rather aggressively in Germany, where Motorola scored a similar victory, back in November. At issue in today's ruling is a European Patent that outlines a "multiple pager status synchronization system and method," upon which iCloud, Motorola claims, infringes. The injunction, as FOSS Patents explains, targets Apple's Ireland-based European distribution branch, but it only applies to the German market -- not Europe, as a whole. And while it's technically "permanent," it's still "preliminarily enforceable," which means Apple can (and likely will) appeal. Motorola, meanwhile, can seek to enforce it, if it's willing to post a €100 million bond. Apple had been seeking a bond of €2 billion, but was ultimately denied. For more of the legal nitty gritty, check out the source link below.

Update: Citing a statement from Apple, Germany's Deutsche Presse-Agentur news agency is now reporting that the company has pulled the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3GS, and the iPhone 4 from its German online store, along with any 3G/UMTS-enabled iPads. The move appears to come in response not to today's ruling, but to a decision issued in December, when Motorola won an injunction against Apple, on the grounds that its 3G/UMTS technology infringes upon one of Moto's European patents. According to FOSS Patents, Apple presumably lost its appeal to the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court, after Motorola sought to enforce the injunction.

-Engadget

google knew what they were doing when they brought moto.....

Apple finally gets a taste of their own medicine.

Apple lost.

[smiley]

Lol wimppple stans about to be heated

!! funny lol

[smiley]

Was never a fan of Apple playing the suing game. I thought it was some !! type move to get a leg up on the competition cause they couldn't do it the regular way (as in by putting out actual better products than the rest)

So I'm glad this !! is biting them in the[..] I'd like to think they would pull their head out of there[..] now but I know that's asking too much.

Should post the updates on this also. There has been a temporary suspension placed on the injunction as Apple states they offered to pay damages for the infringements and Motorola did not accept them. The courts want to take a quick look at the offer, then they will decide whether or not to reinstate the injunction.

But yeah, this is the first large loss, especially since this same case is being pushed again Apple in the US as well. Damn near everywhere actually, and Apple lost this one. The same is likely to happen everywhere else also. They have been forced into bargaining. A position they haven't been in for a LOOOOOONG time.

They settle all the time.

fagpple? really?

lol Apple up there bored with money.. they looking for !! to spend on..

Good win for Moto though..

itrolls gonna avoid this !! like the plague

no they're not, you the only !![..] that avoided every thread of Apple setting records and !!ting on every company on planet earth.

You're clearly a bum though, how you not gonna know a damn thing about stocks I thought Android users were supposed to be smarter or something...

This is a loss for Apple tho, however they have a chance to appeal... I doubt it long before the products are on the shelves again.

They have a chance to appeal. The thing is, Motorola can deny them access to the patent as long as it's not under Fair Use clauses. Since this patent is regarding 3G/UMTS and 3G/UMTS is a standard, it could fall under fair use and Motorola will be forced to bargain with Apple. It depends on what the courts decide, though. If it's not ruled to be under fair use then Motorola can block Apple all they want. The rules may be different in Germany and the EU but I can't imagine they're that much different.

Apple can't appeal the Germany injunction normally since they have appealed and lost that appeal already, but there is still a chance for Andreas Voss to hear an appeal if Apple comes up with a new and compelling argument or if the patent falls under any fair use clause. The one they lost today I'm sure they'll appeal but it's unsure how Voss will treat it. Same area patent-wise but fundamentally different enough. Win or lose, today's loss won't outweigh the one from December.

thats just terrible

As long as my iDevice works in the USofA then I could care less