Motorola has won yet another case against Apple in Germany over a patent violation case. Motorola had earlier won a case against Apple in a similar procedural case but that ruling didn’t affect the sales of Apple’s devices. However, this fresh decision by the court may force Apple to modify certain components of it’s devices.
Motorola has been chasing Apple over allegations that Apple infringed upon certain GRPS-related patents actually owned by Motorola. Now with two ruling well in Motorola’s favour, it seems the company seems to have substance to it’s arguments. The question is, how will this affect the sales of Apple products in Germany.
The consequences for Apple:
The consequences for Apple, as argued by many analysts, may be large-scale. The case which was filed by Motorola covers a rather large range of Apple devices. These include iPhone, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G. Although the case does not explicitly refer to iPhone 4S, this latest device by Apple also uses similar components as the earlier devices, components which have been challenged by Motorola as violation patent rights.
It now seems that after this fresh ruling, Apple may be forced to modify it’s components if it wants smooth sailing in Germany. One possible way out for Apple can be to modify its devices so that they no longer utilize the patents which are in question. This will cause a hiatus for Apple who will have to undergo some extensive work to ensure it all.
Image courtesy Tifanas.
