2nd UPDATE: German Court Upholds Ban On Some Apple 'Push' Email
April 13 2012 - 2:09PM
Dow Jones News
A German regional court Friday upheld a ban on a way Apple Inc.
(AAPL) transmits emails to its iCloud and MobileMe customers in
Germany, granting Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) a victory
in the ongoing patent war between the two technology companies.
In its decision, the Mannheim regional court backed an earlier
court decision against Apple's local entity that banned it from
delivering messages to customers using its iCloud and MobileMe
email services using quick transmission technologies, often known
by the term "push." The Cupertino, Calif., gadget firm disabled
push email in February for German customers and has since taken
steps to make sure they still receive messages without using "push"
technology.
In its ruling, the court said Apple must pay damages to Motorola
Mobility, but didn't specify the amount.
"This is the same case Motorola already brought against another
Apple entity and the court's decision does not impact product
availability," Apple said in a statement, adding that it plans to
appeal the decision. Motorola said it was pleased with the court's
ruling.
The Mannheim court also held back from issuing a decision on
Motorola's mobile communications patent, which is currently being
debated in the other case between the two companies. Motorola is
expected to offer Apple and other companies a license for that
patent because it is considered essential for making wireless
devices.
Apple has complained that Motorola hasn't made good on its
promise to offer licenses in a fair, reasonable and
nondiscriminatory way. A judge in another court said Motorola would
be breaching antitrust law if it didn't offer Apple a license. The
judge in Mannheim didn't say when the court there will rule on that
patent.
Antitrust authorities in Europe have begun investigating
Motorola as a result of complaints from both Apple and Microsoft
Corp. (MSFT), which Motorola is also suing over the way video is
played on its Xbox 360 videogame console.
-By Ian Sherr and Ursula Quass, Dow Jones Newswires;
415-439-6455; ian.sherr@dowjones.com
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