Motorola obtains sales stop for iPhones and iPads in Germany
At the Mannheim Regional Court, Motorola secured a patent ruling against Apple that allows it to halt the sale of iPhones and iPads in Germany. Motorola had cited a technology patent that forms part of the foundation of the GPRS wireless data standard.
According to the text of the judgment, which was published on Friday by German patent expert Florian Müller, Apple is prohibited from offering and supplying mobile devices in which a certain "method for use in a wireless communication system" is used. Motorola can enforce the judgment against a security deposit of 100 million euros. When asked by SDA on Friday, the court was initially unable to provide any information on the status of the proceedings. Apple, for its part, immediately announced that it would take legal action against the ruling and stated that there should be no problem getting the iPad or iPhone that customers want when Christmas shopping in Germany.
Motorola is also involved in other patent proceedings in German courts. According to SDA, Google is currently in the process of acquiring Motorola for 12.5 billion dollars in order to better protect its Android smartphone operating system against attacks from rivals such as Apple and Microsoft with the mobile phone pioneer's patents.
