Germany Makes Apple Remove All 3G Devices From Online Apple Store Except iPhone 4S

[Maura]

Shock news from Germany today that the Mannheim Regional Court has upheld Motorola’s claim that Apple has infringed a patent used for the synchronization of email accounts. 9to5 Mac reports that as a result of the ruling, Apple has been forced to remove 3G iPads, iPhone 3GSs, and iPhone 4s from its German online Apple Store. However, the iPhone 4S is still on sale, although it is not yet quite clear why it has escaped the cull, possibly because it is so new that it was not part of Motorola’s original filing? Or, 9to5 Mac points out, it could be because the iPhone 4S uses a Qualcomm chip, whereas the devices that have been removed use Infineon, so maybe that has something to do with it. Apple is understandably not happy with these events at all, and has even made a couple of rare statements on the ruling.


“Apple believes this old pager patent is invalid and we’re appealing the court’s decision,” Apple’s spokesman Alan Hely told Businessweek, backed up by another Apple statement to Paid Content in which it defiantly said that German customers can still buy the banned products in Apple’s German retail stores, or from an authorized reseller, before taking another swing at Motorola: “Apple is appealing this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago.”

Update: The ban has now been lifted and Apple says the products are returning to the German Online Store. http://9to5mac.com/2012/02/03/that-w...us-of-patents/

Source: Apple forced to remove all 3G devices except iPhone 4S from German online Apple Store following Motorola victory | 9to5Mac | Apple Intelligence

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