So it seems that the “permanent injunction” Motorola obtained against Apple that led to Apple taking all iPads and iPhones except the iPhone 4S off their webstore earlier this morning, has already been overruled, and Germans can once again obtain their iPhone’s and iPad’s from Apple’s online store.
So here’s what happened earlier this morning according to Business Week…
“The Mannheim Regional Court found Apple infringed a patent used to synchronize e-mail accounts. The ruling also allows Motorola Mobility to ask Apple for information about past device sales and holds Apple liable for damages, Presiding Judge Andreas Voss said today.
“The court has come to the conclusion that the wording of the patent does cover functions that were at issue here,” said Voss. Apple “wasn’t able to convince the court that it isn’t infringing.”
Now fast forward a few hours later… Slashgear reports…
“Apple has been granted a suspension of the German injunction against 3G-enabled iOS devices, with the iPad WiFi + 3G, iPhone 4 and other gadgets back on sale through the company’s online store. ”All iPad and iPhone models will be back on sale through Apple’s online store in Germany shortly” the company told us 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.”
That didn’t last very long: Just proves how incredibly unimportant patent manipulation actually is to the everyday customer.
Looks like there’s yet another legal battle brewing between Apple and Motorola.
Can’t we all just get along?
