A German Court today ordered an injunction against the push email service of Apple’s iCloud service in a lawsuit filed by Motorola Mobility against Apple Sales International, the company’s Ireland-based European sales organization. As part of the decision, Apple would be forced to pull from German shelves all iDevices that access Apple’s iCloud or MobileMe services.
Apple did remove several devices from its German website today, including the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4, as well as 3G-enabled iPads. The iPhone 4S remains on the site.
Apple issued a statement to Germany’s Deutsche Presse-Agentur that the decision to remove the devices was not related to the iCloud decision but rather Motorola’s enforcement of a patent decision from December.
Apple maintains that the patent from the December decision should be an industry standard, claiming it should fall under the fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) category of patents.
Regarding the iCloud decision, that injunction is a permanent one and draws to a close Motorola’s lawsuit, which was filed back in April of 2011. However, Apple can appeal the decision.
According to an analysis of the decision posted on FossPatent.blogspot.com, Motorola can seek enforcement of the iCloud injunction anytime now if it posts a bond in the amount of 100 million euro. However, should Apple win its appeal, Motorola would then be liable for charges associated with an “improperly-granted injunction.”
Filed Under: Industry regulations + certifications