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It looks like the constant patent litigation is taking its toll on Apple, which was dealt a pair of setbacks in Germany today.
Push email for Apple's iCloud service could be temporarily halted in Germany thanks to a recent ruling.
(Credit: Apple)
Apple has begun removing older iPhones from its online store in Germany due to a previous legal victory won by Motorola Mobility, according to legal blog Foss Patents. Separately, the site also reported that a German court granted Motorola's request to permanently ban Apple's push email services, a key feature of its iCloud offering.
It appears Google's decision to cough up $12.5 billion Motorola for its patent portfolio was a wise move, with the handset manufacturer scoring a decent number of legal victories against Apple. Apple and Motorola have mixed it up in several courtrooms around the world, although the litigation battle hasn't been as intense as Apple's efforts against HTC and Samsung Electronics. That Motorola taking the high ground in the litigation front bodes well for Google, which plans to use the patent portfolio to defend its Android partners.
"We are pleased that the Mannheim court has recognized the importance of our intellectual property and granted an enforceable injunction in Germany against Apple Sales International," a Motorola spokeswoman told CNET.
Apple wasn't immediately available to comment to CNET.Apple is reportedly removing older iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4 models from its online store, Foss Patent said, citing a German news service. He notes that theiPhone 4S is still available, most likely because that model switched to a Qualcomm cellular radio, as opposed to the 3G UMTS versions that came before. Also removed were iPads with similar 3G UMTS connections.
The removal has to do with a December ruling that went in Motorola favor. That ruling found that Apple had infringed on a patent dealing with one aspect of mobile cellular technology.
Florian Mueller, who runs Foss Patents, noted that the products were only removed from the online store, and they can still be purchased at retailers and Apple's own stores. He added that this lawsuit is key because Motorola is seeking a ban in the U.S. using the same patent.German Apple users, meanwhile, could lose their push email service as a result of a separate ruling that found the company had infringed on Motorola's patent. The "push" feature, part of iCloud, allows emails to be actively sent out to devices, as opposed to users have to manually open their email client and "grab" messages. It's a feature that Research in Motion has long touted on its BlackBerrys, although other smartphones now offer the same feature too.
For now, the feature remains intact. But Apple may be forced to remove it if Motorola seeks to enforce the ban.
The lawsuits are all part of a broader strategy by Apple to both halt the momentum of Android and potentially extract licensing fees for its technology. As a result, Apple has hit many of the Android vendors with lawsuits, creating a legal battle on multiple fronts. Curiously, Apple hasn't gone after Google, which makes the Android platform. Google could eventually step in once it completes its acquisition of Motorola.
The trick has been for Apple or the Android partners to score a big enough legal victory--a ban on products in a major market--that it would force both sides to sit down and resolve their differences with some cross-licensing agreement. So far, neither side is budging.
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