Apple has prevailed in its current litigation against Motorola Mobility regarding one of its key patents related to the sliding unlock function implemented in both iOS and Android. The decision in favor of Apple was handed down earlier today in Munich and Motorola wasted no time in filing a response which can be read below:
“Today’s ruling in the patent litigation brought by Apple in Munich, Germany, concerns a software feature related to phone unlocking in select Motorola devices sold in Germany.
“Motorola has implemented a new design for the feature. Therefore, we expect no impact on current supply or future sales.”
Apple has so far refused to comment. While Apple’s victory over Motorola represents one victory in the patent war being waged against Android, the overall scope of the ruling is miniscule compared to the overall state of the industry in regards to patent litigation, which being fought on all sides even as certain companies continue to work together at arms length, as is the case with Apple and Samsung.
While Apple and Samsung are frequently wrapped up in litigation against each other in multiple courts and jurisdictions in regards to design patents that Apple is claiming are being violated by Samsung, both companies are still actively benefitting from each other in terms of business arrangements, such as the recent opening of a new fabrication center in order to provide Apple with additional manufacturing capacity for its A series of chipsets in the US used in iOS devices.
With Motorola now becoming a Google subsidiary following approvals in the EU, it remains to be seen whether Google will become more involved in the company’s current wave of litigation in the wake of the extent of Android and patent litigation in general.
