Motorola Mobility has won a Preliminary Injunction in Germany against
Apple that could end up with the iPhone and 3G iPads to be banned from
the European markets As the courst decided that Apple’s products violate
a patent related to the GPRS data service used over cellular networks.
According to Foss Patents
This patent Apple is accused to be violating is the one Apple has been
arguing that it was essential to the GPRS standard, making Motorola
required to license the technology under FRAND (fair, reasonable, and
non-discriminatory) terms. However, the court ruled in Motorola’s favor
as Apple didn’t make a binding offer to license the patent in question.
Essentially, they can’t just hold a FRAND defense against a patent holder who’s suing them. Instead, they have to proactively make efforts to procure a license on FRAND terms by making an irrevocable, binding offer to the patent holder and by posting a bond for ongoing royalties.
Only if the FRAND patent holder denies a license despite having such an offer on the table, the defendant can claim that an injunction would result in a violation of competition law and, as a result, should not be granted.
The ruling will be applied on all the iPhone models and the 3G capable models of the iPad and the iPad 2.
Motorola was ordered to post a $134 million bond if it wishes to enforce the preliminary injunction against Apple. This sum would be used to reimburse Apple should the injunction be overturned on appeal which of course Apple will do.
If Apple losses this battle against Motorola the options will be either to license from Motorola for the patent in question or to engineer around the patent. But the first option is the more likely to happen as the patent has been declared essential to the GPRS standard.
Essentially, they can’t just hold a FRAND defense against a patent holder who’s suing them. Instead, they have to proactively make efforts to procure a license on FRAND terms by making an irrevocable, binding offer to the patent holder and by posting a bond for ongoing royalties.
Only if the FRAND patent holder denies a license despite having such an offer on the table, the defendant can claim that an injunction would result in a violation of competition law and, as a result, should not be granted.
The ruling will be applied on all the iPhone models and the 3G capable models of the iPad and the iPad 2.
Motorola was ordered to post a $134 million bond if it wishes to enforce the preliminary injunction against Apple. This sum would be used to reimburse Apple should the injunction be overturned on appeal which of course Apple will do.
If Apple losses this battle against Motorola the options will be either to license from Motorola for the patent in question or to engineer around the patent. But the first option is the more likely to happen as the patent has been declared essential to the GPRS standard.
Motorola’s Press Release Announcing The Victory
“We are pleased with the court’s ruling. Today’s decision validates Motorola Mobility’s efforts to enforce its patents against Apple’s infringement,” said Scott Offer, senior vice president and general counsel of Motorola Mobility. “Motorola Mobility has worked hard over the years to build an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio that is respected by the telecommunications industry, and we are proud to leverage this portfolio to create differentiated innovations that enhance the user experience. We will continue to take all necessary steps to protect our intellectual property, as the Company’s patent portfolio and licensing agreements with companies both in the U.S. and around the world are critical to our business. We have been negotiating with Apple and offering them reasonable licensing terms and conditions since 2007, and will continue our efforts to resolve our global patent dispute as soon as practicable.” [Via]
Apple’s Official Statement to AllThingsD
“We’re going to appeal the court’s ruling right away,” an Apple spokesperson told AllThingsD. “Holiday shoppers in Germany should have no problem finding the iPad or iPhone they want.”[Via]
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