A court in Munich has ruled in Apple’s favour against Motorola Mobility regarding a patent infringement case. As a result, Apple is now in a position to request that Motorola Mobility’s Android-powered smartphones and tablets are banned in Germany.
The court ruled that Google-owned Motorola Mobility infringed on Apple’s ‘rubber band’ scrolling patent, which shows the screen bouncing back to the centre after users swipe. This same patent had a pivotal role in the patent infringement case Apple recently won against Samsung in California, the latter being ordered to pay US$1.05bn in damages.
Apple can now request that any Motorola devices using this technology be taken off the market in Germany, but it will need to post a bond of €25m to do so. It’s likely that Apple will request the ban and for another €10m it can request that Motorola destroys the infringing products, while another €10m can allow it to go so far as to request a recall. Motorola Mobility was also found to owe damages for past infringement, Foss Patents reports.
Motorola Mobility can, and most definitely will, appeal the court’s decision, while Google pursues a case against the very existence of the patent with the European Patent Office.
Elsewhere, Steve Wozniak reportedly laments the patents war and what it’s doing to innovation. Speaking to Bloomberg, the Apple co-founder said he “hated” the ongoing patents dispute between Samsung and Apple.
“I don’t think the decision of California will hold. And I don’t agree with it – very small things I don’t really call that innovative,” he said. “I wish everybody would just agree to exchange all the patents and everybody can build the best forms they want to use everybody’s technologies.”
