The patent disputes between Apple and almost every other technology company on the planet continues, this time with Apple being forced to pull a number of iPhone and iPad models from sale in its German online store due to Motorola Mobility enforcing its patent injunction against the company.
A German Court found a number of Apple’s products to be infringing back in December, but Motorola Mobility (the consumer hardware arm of Motorola that is in the process of being taken over by Google) is now enforcing that ruling and Apple has had to pull the products.
The patent in question relates to a “method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system” and is normally licensed to competitors under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) conditions as it is crucial to GPRS data transmission – but Apple failed to license this patent in the past, and whilst has agreed to pay going forward, Motorola wants Apple to pay a penalty for the past transgressions – and they have the courts on their side.
UPDATE 17:00 03/92/12 // Apple have gained a temporary suspension (days or weeks) of the injunction from the German Appeals Court after offering a new deal to license Motorola’s patents.