Motorola, Samsung score in legal battles against Apple
You win a few, you lose a few. This week, Apple was up against the ropes in the patent infringement fights going on all over the world.
In Germany, Motorola won a verdict against Apple when a court in Mannheim ruled that Apple had violated one of its 3G-related patents. This could be serious for Apple, possibly banning sale of 3G devices including iPads and all iPhones prior to the iPhone 4S. What can Apple do to avoid the ban? Motorola could choose to license the patent to Apple, or Apple could decide to change future designs to get around the patents.
It's expected that Apple will appeal the loss, and it is also trying to invalidate the 3G patent and several others in a Federal Patent court in Munich. If Apple wins that case, the decision would invalidate this Motorola victory and leave it defenseless against claims that Apple has made.
Meanwhile, the Samsung/Apple fight in Australia continues. Apple had tried to get a stay on an injunction down under that would have essentially blocked the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 through the critical holiday shopping season. Australia's High Court heard arguments from both companies this morning, and decided in favor of allowing Samsung to start sales of the iPad lookalike on Monday.
