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[crazy monkey]

http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/9/2623162/motorola-wins-german-patent-lawsuit-apple-sales-ban-iphone-ipad

"Motorola's just scored a fairly big victory in its ongoing worldwide case against Apple: a German court has ruled that every iPhone up to the iPhone 4S and both 3G iPads infringe a Motorola patent held essential to the GPRS standard. (The iPhone 4S simply wasn't around when Motorola filed the case; it's likely but not certain it contains the same infringing elements.) Unlike the previous Motorola victory in Germany, this one has some actual teeth: Motorola can post a €100m ($133m) bond and enforce an injunction against sales of Apple's products in Germany. It's all but certain Apple will appeal the decision and seek to postpone any injunction while the appeal is underway; Apple's also trying to have the patent invalidated entirely, and in the meantime it can also try and redesign its devices so they no longer infringe. We'll see if Motorola decides to try and enforce the sales ban, and if Apple is successful in having it stayed pending appeal — we'll let you know when we hear from both sides."

 

[Divvy]

This is like the fourth or fifth consecutive court case Apple has lost in these patent wars lately. I wonder what's going on?

 

[nib95]

Bwahaha! Patent war backfire is a bitch.

 

[big_z]

This is like the fourth or fifth consecutive court case Apple has lost in these patent wars lately. I wonder what's going on?

ios5 is a broken POS on the ipod touches as well.
the apple is rotten.
bail out.

 

[NH Apache]

Samsung->send that thank you card to Motorola.

 

[Owensboro]

Goddamn Patent law. This is why we can't have nice things. I'm no Apple fan, but it sucks that people who are Apple fans won't be able to buy Apple products

 

[FlyingTeacup]

massive victory for google.

 

[Ken Masters]

I'm like these court rulings these days

 

[Sharp]

Keep tearing yourself apart, cell phone industry!

 

[BlueTsunami]

Live by the sword die by the sword

 

[andycapps]

Karma

 

[Keylime]

Call me when anyone actually stops Apple from selling their products somewhere.

 

[Phantast2k]

This is like the fourth or fifth consecutive court case Apple has lost in these patent wars lately. I wonder what's going on?

Doesn't it make sense? If you get into the game this late (and than start to stir shit up) of course you're going lose against a manufacturer that basically invented the whole thing..
Apple probably thought, well if they keep coming at us - we'll just buy them. But Google beat them to it.
That's probably one of the reasons MS & Google don't really make phones, but rather mobiles OS.

So lolololo @ Apple.

 

[X26]

This is like the fourth or fifth consecutive court case Apple has lost in these patent wars lately. I wonder what's going on?

bouncing checks

 

[planar1280]

don't you mean Google won the court case as Motorola is part of Google now?

 

[Nora Kisaragi]

i hate to say i told you guys so, but i said a while back apple has had this coming

they brought this upon themselves.

don't you mean Google won the court case as Motorola is part of Google now?

OH SNAP!

 

[Tacitus_]

This is like the fourth or fifth consecutive court case Apple has lost in these patent wars lately. I wonder what's going on?

Their reality distortion field dissipated.

 

[gcubed]

don't you mean Google won the court case as Motorola is part of Google now?

dont think its "official" yet

 

[planar1280]

dont think its "official" yet

on november 17th the Moto Mobility stockholders approved the takeover. is that official or is there another hurdle

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Apple is used to bullying competitors around, but now they are discovering what happens when they try to bully Google around. I mean, Google. Seriously.

on november 17th the Moto Mobility stockholders approved the takeover. is that official or is there another hurdle

Still needs regulator approval.

 

[ShinNL]

Well, consumers are the ones who will lose in the end. But my personal opinion on this matter: Apple really shouldn't have started this war over petty reasons. COME AT ME FANBOYS

 

[Keylime]

Apple is used to bullying competitors around, but now they are discovering what happens when they try to bully Google around. I mean, Google. Seriously.

What have they learned? What lessons have they been taught? What sales have they lost as a result of these lawsuits?

Nothing. None. Nadda.

...but fuck 'em! I don't like them!

 

[Unknown Soldier]

What have they learned? What lessons have they been taught? What sales have they lost as a result of these lawsuits?

Nothing. None. Nadda.

...but fuck 'em! I don't like them!

Apple lover is mad?

 

[Keylime]

Apple lover is mad?

You guys read like a bunch of hungry wolves that got thrown a steak. It's really awkward.

 

[Crazymoogle]

i hate to say i told you guys so, but i said a while back apple has had this coming

lol no

Sorry guys, this is just lawsuit #300/2000 or whatever. Expect to hear warring stories about Apple vs. Samsung vs. Google vs. Microsoft vs. HTC vs. whomever to continue for years. The battle wasn't even started by these guys; they're just legally forced to continue to do so.

Until we see some reform in intellectual property law this stuff will probably get worse with every product released.

 

[bigtroyjon]

What have they learned? What lessons have they been taught? What sales have they lost as a result of these lawsuits?

Nothing. None. Nadda.

...but fuck 'em! I don't like them!

I'm sure the legal team is working pro bono.

 

[Kinitari]

I don't really want Apple products to be banned, but I am glad this happened - as it will hopefully get more people in the fray to take a step back and realize the fucked up shit they're trying to do. Maybe when some political figures kid starts whining to his dad/mom about how they can't get an iPhone anymore, patent laws will get a thorough scrutinizing.

 

[Nora Kisaragi]

I don't really want Apple products to be banned, but I am glad this happened - as it will hopefully get more people in the fray to take a step back and realize the fucked up shit they're trying to do. Maybe when some political figures kid starts whining to his dad/mom about how they can't get an iPhone anymore, patent laws will get a thorough scrutinizing.

patents will never change

congress won't let it

 

[Guy LeDouche]

wow you guys sure treat this stuff personally

 

[Riddick]

I'm pretty sure I can masturbate to this news.

 

[jman2050]

Patent law is hilarious

 

[Tacitus_]

Until we see some reform in intellectual property law this stuff will probably get worse with every product released.

While it's true that IP laws need to be reformed, there's a difference between suing because the other guys product looks too similar, and suing because they're using tech like GPRS or GSM without paying for a license.

 

[Crazymoogle]

I don't really want Apple products to be banned, but I am glad this happened - as it will hopefully get more people in the fray to take a step back and realize the fucked up shit they're trying to do. Maybe when some political figures kid starts whining to his dad/mom about how they can't get an iPhone anymore, patent laws will get a thorough scrutinizing.

I think their perspective is pretty simple though - if Samsung or whomever won't play ball, they HAVE to sue. Otherwise it's the first thing that can be thrown in their faces when the real patent trolls - the companies that do nothing but pursue IP cases - ring the doorbell. It's a whole new ballgame with a ton of overlapping patents, and the only two options are to litigate out the boundaries or to make a (licensing) deal.

Inevitably, all of the big guys will make a deal, but as long as they feel confident about their patents, plan A is a cheaper legal path than plan B.

While it's true that IP laws need to be reformed, there's a difference between suing because the other guys product looks too similar, and suing because they're using tech like GPRS or GSM without paying for a license.

I haven't looked at the specific licenses Apple owns in this regard, but in general, these sort of cases boil down to one side believing they licensed it through some other source (either a license package, or by taking part in a consortium). So I'd be interested to see if they are actually using GPRS unlicensed or under an assumed license. (The Verge article specifically points to a piece of tech "essential to GPRS", not a license to GPRS itself. Sounds a lot like some recent video codec cases where one member of a consortium goes "ah ha!" and tries to reveal a hidden extra patent that wasn't part of the core license package.)

Anyway, it's all long con negotiating. I'm pretty sure based on the number of active cases that Apple is probably willing to lose on license judgement if it means they win back 2 or 3 other ones.

 

[reKon]

karma's a bitchhhhhh

 

[Kinitari]

wow you guys sure treat this stuff personally

It's not like it doesn't have a direct and personal effect on us. So... yeah. I don't think anyone here is slamming their fists into their wall in rage - on either side (like both sides seem to be trying to imply), but whether or not your favourite consumer electronic makes it to market, or whether it has things happen to them that will effect the future of the brand - yeah, people care.

 

[Divvy]

What have they learned? What lessons have they been taught? What sales have they lost as a result of these lawsuits?

Nothing. None. Nadda.

...but fuck 'em! I don't like them!

It's not that they haven't lost anything, it's just that these recent cases removed a lot of the gains Apple made in this patent war.

For instance last month, Australia's court removed the injuction placed on Samsung, and then today, promptly denied Apple an appeal and ordered them to pay Samsung's legal fees.

 

[artist]

You guys read like a bunch of hungry wolves that got thrown a steak. It's really awkward.

MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH

 

[esquire]

I miss Lord Jobs (PBUH).

 

[Majine]

iPod Touch still alive and kicking you guys!

 

[andycapps]

The only reason this excites me is that I hope that sometime they will reach an impasse where everyone stops suing each other over patent laws. Hoping this is a step in that direction.

 

[acheron_xl]

Call me when anyone actually stops Apple from selling their products somewhere.

Yeah, at worst this just means that Apple is going to drop a cash bomb on Moto and/or trade patent licenses. I don't think anything will change.

 

[GregLombardi]

The only reason this excites me is that I hope that sometime they will reach an impasse where everyone stops suing each other over patent laws. Hoping this is a step in that direction.

Agreed. Kings fighting over gold that they all already have in their castles.

 

[MetatronM]

I don't get why people get so excited about these anti-competitive applications of patent law, regardless of who is suing who, especially in the technology sector where patents have just gotten absurd in recent years.

Ultimately the only people who lose are consumers, and this kind of thing will go back and forth, because everybody is infringing on everybody else in some way. None of this shit is anything to celebrate regardless of whether you like Apple or hate them, unless you happen to be a shareholder who is making bank on these patent rulings.

In which case, party on, I guess.

 

[Slavik81]

I don't get why people get so excited about these anti-competitive applications of patent law, regardless of who is suing who, especially in the technology sector where patents have just gotten absurd in recent years.

Ultimately the only people who lose are consumers, and this kind of thing will go back and forth, because everybody is infringing on everybody else in some way. None of this shit is anything to celebrate regardless of whether you like Apple or hate them, unless you happen to be a shareholder who is making bank on these patent rulings.

In which case, party on, I guess.

Because the more painful the law becomes for major players in industry, the more likely it is we'll see patent reform.

 

[Binabik15]

I don't get why people get so excited about these anti-competitive applications of patent law, regardless of who is suing who, especially in the technology sector where patents have just gotten absurd in recent years.

Ultimately the only people who lose are consumers, and this kind of thing will go back and forth, because everybody is infringing on everybody else in some way. None of this shit is anything to celebrate regardless of whether you like Apple or hate them, unless you happen to be a shareholder who is making bank on these patent rulings.

In which case, party on, I guess.

Well, some people in Germany are pretty pissed at Apple after they won against Samsung and retailers can't sell Galaxy tabs anymore. You can import them, but you can't get them here in Germany and of course there's no Christmas deals going on for them, as there probably would be.

So I can see why those people would go all HA HA at Apple not being allowed to sell their wares here.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

Hah

 

[notsol337]

That. Is. Hilarious.

Eventually they'll stop all this lawsuit crap and get back to simply trying to beat each other with awesome phones.

 

[rezuth]

That. Is. Hilarious.

Eventually they'll stop all this lawsuit crap and get back to simply trying to beat each other with awesome phones.

Cuz they can't do both?

 

[Danielsan]

Great. Now can both sides please just agree to stop wasting everyone's time and money with these bullshit patent wars?

 

[Lamel]

Well I guess apple has learned a lesson?

Either way, iPhone and iPad are both amazing devices...so yeah.