Court Rejects Sales Ban Of Apple's iPhone, iPad In Germany

A German court Monday said Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) can't enforce a sales ban on Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPad and iPhone devices in Germany for the time being, and Motorola would be infringing antitrust obligations if it demands Apple cease sales of the affected products.

The Karlsruhe higher regional court's summary assessment is based on an appeal by Apple against a lower court's earlier injunction barring Apple from selling certain iPad and iPhone devices in Germany. That injunction, which Motorola brought against an Apple affiliate for allegedly infringing on patents for cellular communications, briefly forced Apple to stop selling certain devices earlier this month.

The higher court Monday overturned the injunction on the grounds that Apple made Motorola a new offer for patent licensing terms which adequately takes into account Motorola's interests, and thus attempts by Motorola to enforce a sales ban for the time being would breach anti-trust obligations, the court said in an emailed statement.

Neither Apple nor Motorola immediately responded to emailed requests for comment.

The struggle between Apple and Motorola Mobility is just the latest in a string of lawsuits that have enveloped nearly all major technology companies making mobile devices.

Smartphone sales have rocketed in recent years, giving rise to a plethora of lawsuits involving Apple, Motorola, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.SE, SSNHY), HTC Corp. (2498.TW, HTCXF) and others.

-By Harriet Torry, Dow Jones Newswires: +49 69 29725 511: harriet.torry@dowjones.com

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