German court rules Motorola Xoom doesn't violate Apple's iPad patents
Apple's lawsuit against Motorola was dismissed and Apple was denied its request to ban sales of the Xoom throughout the European Union, according to the Associated press. The Dusseldorf court also denied Motorola's request to invalidate Apple's community design rights for the iPad, which protect the distinctive appearance of products.
Motorola's courtroom victory isn't a major blow to Apple, as the Xoom, first released in 2011, has not had an impact on sales of the iPad. Since the launch of the Xoom, Motorola Mobility was purchased by Google for $12.5 billion.
Tuesday's outcome is similar to a U.S.-based decision from earlier this month, in which Judge Richard Posner dismissed Apple's patent infringement case against Motorola.
One key Apple-Motorola dispute that remains is with the U.S. International Trade Commission, which issued an initial ruling in April that deemed Apple violated one of four Motorola Mobility patents. The ITC has yet to review the ruling related to a Motorola Wi-Fi patent, but the commission's decision could possibly lead to an import ban on Apple products using Motorola technology.
Motorola first sued Apple in 2010 for alleged infringement on a range of wireless communications patents. The iPhone maker filed a countersuit with the ITC but the commission ultimately cleared Motorola of any wrongdoing in March.
34 Comments
LOL not that it really matters at this point. It's the *example* that Apple is after. Keep digging, Apple. You'll turn up gold eventually. They already have, anyway.
Moto is singing "All I wanna do is Xooma Xoom Xoom Xoom in a boom boom, just shake ya rump"
odd that they wouldn't officially invalidate the design rights but by saying Moto didn't violate it they basically have done just that
I suspect that Apple isn't going to push on the physical design issues. Sure they would love to win and they aren't going to drop all their cases but in the end the word is out to the public and that is the court that really matters. So what if legally something can sell if everyone just sees it as a copy cat and goes for the original. It's the tech patents that Apple is more likely to keep pushing over as they should. Both as the offense and the defense. Particularly when the other side is playing games with FRAND patents
[QUOTE]As the court ultimately rejected both parties’ claims, it ordered Apple to pay two-thirds of costs and Motorola to pay a third, the spokesman added.[/QUOTE] http://************/2012/07/17/motorola-xoom-does-not-violate-ipad-design-patent-rules-german-court/#FIdf5eRDqMlxZiw5.99[ #FAIL ---- WTF - You can't link to 9to5mac here? #DOUBLEFAIL #SOINTENSE
[quote name="charlituna" url="/t/151325/german-court-rules-motorola-xoom-doesnt-violate-apples-ipad-patents#post_2148459"]odd that they wouldn't officially invalidate the design rights but by saying Moto didn't violate it they basically have done just that [/quote] The two matters are entirely different. They did not invalidate the patent, so it is still considered valid. They simply said that the Xoom doesn't fall under the claims. That doesn't mean that another device that looks more like the iPad won't fall under the claims. See, for example, how much closer the Tab is to the iPad's design patents. It's entirely possible that the Tab will still fall under the claims of the patent.