Today a court in Munich, Germany, won the cause the Apple company in a process in which the Cupertino company accuses Motorola of infringing a patent regarding the way pictures are displayed in a picture gallery in the Android OS. Today's victory only refers to the function of switching from one picture to another when the image is viewed in zoomed-in mode, but Apple can impose a sales ban against all Motorola terminals that contain this function in the operating system. The invention patent for which the victory was offered is called portable electronic device for photo management and it is closely related to the one regarding the effect of "de-sticking" the picture from the edges of the screen when zooming out.
Presiding Judge Dr. Peter Guntz announced that Apple has won an injunction against all Motorola Mobility devices that implement EP2059868 on a "portable electronic device for photo management". This patent was derived from the overscroll bounce patent I once dubbed "Apple's favorite make-Android-awkward patent". If Apple enforces the ruling, it can even require Motorola to destroy any infringing products in its possession in Germany and recall, at MMI's expense, any infringing products from German retailers in order to have them destroyed as well. Motorola Mobility will undoubtedly be able to keep selling its products in Germany by modifying its operating software.
The most interesting part of today's decision is that Apple can not only ban the sale of Motorola products, but also require Motorola to physically destroy devices that infringe this patent. Motorola resellers would be obliged to take the same measures, but the Motorola company can save its stocks of terminals if it releases a software update that solves all the problems. Today's decision applies to both smartphones and the Motorola Xoom tablet, so Apple can remove either product from sale. Two weeks ago, Apple filed a bond of 25 million euros to prohibit the sale of some Motorola terminals that violated the slide to unlock patent, and in order to enforce today's decision, it does not have to file a separate bond.
If Apple enforces the ruling, it can even require Motorola to destroy any infringing products in its possession in Germany and recall, at MMI's expense, any infringing products from German retailers in order to have them destroyed as well. Motorola Mobility will undoubtedly be able to keep selling its products in Germany by modifying its operating software.
Last Friday, Apple blocked the Push service for email to its customers in Germany due to a lawsuit filed by the Motorola company, and I believe that today's victory will be fruitful through a ban on the sale of some Motorola products in Germany.
