Apple vs Motorola: Apple Wins Injunction Against Motorola Mobility in Germany

After the unveiling of the iPhone 5 yesterday, Apple legal battle against the Android OS continues. This time a Germany court ruled that Google’s Motorola Mobility has been found to infringe the EP2126678 on list scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display, the European equivalent of U.S. Patent No. 7,469,381. This patent has also been use very effectively against Samsung in the recent trial in the US.

Apple Wins Against Motorola Mobility

Reporting on the ruling on the ruling FossPatent had this to say:

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Apple can enforce a Germany-wide permanent (but appealable and, therefore, preliminarily-enforceable) injunction now by posting a 25 million bond (or making a deposit of the same amount), which it undoubtedly will. Motorola doesn’t have to look far for a workaround: stock Android (the version of Android that Google makes available for download) comes with a glow effect instead of the overscroll bounce. Samsung’s current devices also have a blue glow. But the glow does not solve the problem that the rubber-banding patent solves: by the time a user notices the glow, he or she has already instinctively pressed harder because of the impression that the device is not responding. This injunction spells further degradation of the Android user experience.

If Apple posts another 10 million euros, it can also obligate Motorola to destroy any infringing material, and for yet another 10 million euros it can get a recall. Furthermore, Motorola was held to owe Apple damages for past infringement. But Google will definitely appeal the decision to the Munich Higher Regional Court, and additionally it will keep pursuing its opposition to the grant of this patent by the European Patent Office. The opposition proceeding before the EPO is still ongoing and could lead to the partial or complete revocation of this patent. Judge Dr. Guntz does not rule out that this might happen, but in Germany, infringement cases are only stayed if there is a high probability (80% or higher) of a patent being invalid, and Motorola’s invalidity defense did not meet that threshold in the court’s opinion.

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Mueller pointed out that these rulings highlights the plight manufacturers using Android devices faces. This is in light of both Apple and Microsoft having proved that Google’s Android operating system is infringing many of their patents.

Source:  FossPatent