Apple wins 3G patent case against Motorola in Germany

Leeky

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Motorola Mobility Holdings lost its third patent case against Apple in Mannheim, Germany on Friday after failing to show that the Cupertino based iPhone maker was violating their 3G/UMTS patent for mathematical sequences in mobile telecommunications.

Despite being successful on two previous occasions in the same court, on this occasion Motorola was unable to convince Judge Andreas Voss of the Regional Court that Apple had fallen foul of the patent in question. This is unlikely to be the end though, as Motorola currently has more cases against Apple pending.

"While we can’t comment on specific details, we will continue to protect our intellectual property," Jennifer Weyrauch-Erickson, a spokeswoman for Motorola Mobility said in an email to Business Week.

Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents summed up the court's decision on his blog: "Since the asserted patent claim is centered around the 'means' used to generate a number that optimizes wireless transmissions, the court would have wanted to see proof that Apple's products contain such 'means'. [...] But Motorola Mobility didn't show any kind of actual implementation (neither hardware nor software), and arguing merely on the basis of the specifications of the standard was insufficient to win."

Despite the setback, Motorola Mobility will likely be happy with at least two victories so far. At the beginning of February they were successful in getting a permanent injunction for Apple’s iCloud push notification system as well as any services that use it in Germany. If enforced, Apple would be required to disable the instant push email service that works with iCloud and MobileMe, or face a sales ban in the country. It only lasted a few hours though as Apple was able to win a suspension later that day.

In a separate dispute, Motorola had been asking Apple to pay 2.25 percent of the net selling price of all of its 3G/UTMS fitted devices as a royalty for using their wireless patents. Apple contested that Motorola was in breach of its obligations of FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) licensing for technologies that have been declared essential in implementing open industry standards.

Apple is appealing these verdicts, but has not responded to requests for comment.

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The surprise is how there's no mention on TS yet of the new Apple vs Samsung suit. Apple is trying to get the Galaxy Nexus removed from stores in the US. And because some of the features they're suing for are really part of Android 4.0, it'll affect futures phones too.
 
Motorola, which is now Google, are so ridiculous.

Ok, so they first Steal the iPhone idea. Everything down to the look and feel of the hardware to the look and feel of the OS. Almost every detail is stolen.

Then they have the gall to SUE Apple over 3g FRAND patents. Jesus, you steal their idea, then you sue them over FRAND patents (which is illegal?)

I so f**ing HATE Google/Motorola. The US DOJ should file Anti-trust investigations immediately.
 
German "judges" firmly in Apple's pocket.

law does not equal justice.
 
German "judges" firmly in Apple's pocket.

law does not equal justice.

The same Judge ruled against Apple in two separate previous patent disputes against Motorola Mobility. That claim is totally baseless.
 
Guest said:
Motorola, which is now Google, are so ridiculous.

Ok, so they first Steal the iPhone idea. Everything down to the look and feel of the hardware to the look and feel of the OS. Almost every detail is stolen.

Then they have the gall to SUE Apple over 3g FRAND patents. Jesus, you steal their idea, then you sue them over FRAND patents (which is illegal?)

I so f**ing HATE Google/Motorola. The US DOJ should file Anti-trust investigations immediately.

Not sure if you were sarcastic or not, but a lot of what Apple is suing about is for items that should never have been patented in the first place and if the patent was granted, then it should of been FRAND patent in the first place. Apple suing Samsung because their tablet looks like Apple's iPad, but Apple iPad looks EXACTLY the same as the Samsung's picture frame from 2006. Let's not forget that the idea for the tablet was shown in movies like Star trek, 2001 the Space Odyssey, etc... So there is definitely prior art.

P.S. Apple is trying to patent shaped batteries now. Due to the broken patent system you only have to say that you propose using shaped batteries in a touch enabled device and BANG, you are an "innovator".
 
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