Well, I didn’t think it would get to this point. But that lawsuit filed by Motorola mobility in Germany back in December is taking real effect.
Weeks after the judge taking sides with Motorola on a patent infringement by Apple, the company has been forced to remove the iPhone 3GS and 4 as well as the iPad 2 3G from its store.
The lawsuit does not effect the latest version of the iPhone as this uses a different chip.
I don’t think this ban will last long. Apple now has two options: fight further in the German courts, or just pay Motorola for the licenses involved. Since Motorola is liable to pay the iPhone maker for any losses in sales in case Apple ends up winning this case in the courts, I see them fighting further.
Although, if Motorola keeps having the upper hand in the courts, this could get expensive for Apple as the case might expand oversees.
Either way, this is a huge blow for Apple and probably quite encouraging for all those other tech companies involved in lawsuits with Tim Cook’s lawyers.
Update: And just a few hours later…the courts suspended the injunction that prevented Apple from selling the devices and the company has said everything should be back to normal in a few hours.
Apparently, the court agreed with Apple that Motorola was not providing a reasonable license deal. Remember, this is for an industry standard patent.
