02/09, 11:40pm
Eolas sees web patent lawsuit claim tossed
Eolas' attempt to patent the "interactive web" may have been dealt a permanent blow after a jury in the normally patent lawsuit-friendly town of Tyler, Texas ruled that the patent was invalid. The decision negated both any attempts at claiming damages and also negated three future trials. The rejection came in part after testimony from the spiritual creator of the web, Tim Berners-Lee, as well as individual creators whose work predated that of Eolas owner Michael Doyle.
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02/09, 9:25pm
Bookseller blasts licensing strategy
Barnes & Noble has asked the International Trade Commission to review a recent ruling from Administrative Law Judge Theodore Essex in the ongoing patent lawsuit filed by Microsoft. The company argues that the judge's dismissal of its "patent misuse" defense is based on "erroneous conclusions of law" and a "misstatement of the facts."
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02/09, 1:40pm
Motion, sunlight could affect appearance
Apple has been exploring the idea of a 3D iOS interface that reacts to its surroundings, a newly-published patent application reveals. Called Three Dimensional User Interface Effects on a Display by Using Properties of Motion, the document notes that products like the iPhone have the benefit of numerous different sensors, such as accelerometers, compasses, cameras, and GPS receivers. "However, current systems do not take into account the location and position of the device on which the virtual 3D environment is being rendered," Apple writes. The company also mentions "physical and lighting properties of the user's environment" as factors that could be taken into account for presenting "a more interesting and visually appealing" interface.
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02/08, 6:25pm
Company expands patent litigation
A Texas court is finally ready to hear arguments in a high-profile patent lawsuit that names tech giants Google, Amazon and Yahoo among a list of defendants. The companies are attempting to defend themselves against a suit filed by a patent holding company, Eolas Technologies, that accuses the group of violating several patents related to "interactive web" technology.
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02/08, 2:30am
Dogged by legal battles, appeals for standards
Apple approached the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in November seeking clarification on what it says is a lack of "consistent policy" on how manufacturers can license and set royalty rates on patents used by mobile devices. The tech giant, which has been sued and is suing several companies worldwide over patent issues, called for ETSI to develop clear, transparent rules and policy particularly with regards to so-called FRAND licensing, which in several cases is the core of Apple's argument, reports The Wall Street Journal.
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02/06, 10:05pm
Application initially submitted in 2010
Sony has filed a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a tablet-like game controller. The Position-Dependent Gaming, 3D Controller, and Handheld as a Remote in many ways conceptually resembles Nintendo's
Wii U's tablet-like game controller. Sony actually began the application process for the technology in July 2010, almost a year before Nintendo showed the system.
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02/06, 3:40pm
Google denied appeal on mail shwoing patent issue
Google on Monday lost an appeal trying to keep an incriminating e-mail out of Oracle's lawsuit over Android patents and copyrights. The court rejected Google's view that engineer Tim Lindholm's message, which told top staff that they needed a Java license for Android, was subject to attorney-client privilege. Lindholm had been talking to regular Google employees and not lawyers, the federal appeals court said, making it a valid part of discovery.
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02/03, 6:55am
Stakes raised in Apple case against Samsung
Apple has initiated a massive expansion of its lawsuit against Samsung in Australia, according the The Australian. Its lawsuit now encompasses 278 claims across 22 patents that cover 10 Samsung devices, some of which are yet to go on sale locally. In its initial claim against Samsung, which had resulted in a temporary ban on the sale of its Galaxy Tab 10.1, Apple had chosen to test only three of its patents.
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02/02, 6:30pm
Skeuomorphica aesthetic for audio, video apps
The US Patent and Trademark Office today granted Apple a patent on the idea of a "virtual knob" that could show an on-screen knob with an active "slider" type control that appears underneath it only when a mouse, stylus or finger moves to control it. The idea would allow for skeuomorphic design of traditional knob controls (particularly widely used on real-world audio and video equipment) that overcomes the flat dimensionality of screen displays.
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02/01, 1:35pm
Terms for program guide technology might change
An Apple TV set could require Apple to pay a higher amount of royalties to Rovi, says Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson. Rovi owns patents to related to interactive program guide technology, for which Apple is paying an annual license fee. The two companies signed a contract in September 2010.
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01/25, 11:55am
Aims at tougher measures
Apple is appealing a US International Trade Commission ruling on its first complaint against HTC, notes FOSS Patents. The appeal is actually said to have been filed with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on December 29th, but remained out of the limelight until it was referenced today in a filing with the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. There Apple is trying to assert a real-time API patent against Motorola, and told the court that an administrative law judge agreed with Apple's construction of the term "realtime application programming interface," but that the ITC "reversed the ALJ's construction."
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01/23, 5:05pm
Apple gaining little for anti-Android campaign?
Apple has spent about $100 million in legal fees trying to prosecute just its first set of patent claims against HTC, a rumor suggests. The information is potentially inaccurate, coming from a person "close to the situation" citing "a rumor going around among the lawyers," according to Newsweek columnist Dan Lyons. Apple's initial volley against HTC, in Feburary 2010, did however consist of 84 claims, linked to 10 patents, shrinking down to four patents by the time the case reached a judge.
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01/20, 9:35pm
Ericsson and ZTE drop patent suits on GSM, 3G
Ericsson and ZTE on Friday made peace and dropped lawsuits against each other over cellular technology. In return for stopping legal action, they agreed to license some of each other's technology patents. ZTE would take a license of Ericsson's patents for GSM and 3G under lower standards-based rates; it's not clear what if anything Ericsson would be paying ZTE.
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01/20, 2:40pm
Apple claims Nexus breaks utility model
Apple in the same Mannheim Regional Court that just tossed one Samsung patent claim has argued that the Galaxy Nexus is violating a utility model, or a quick-to-establish but short reach legal claim. The iPhone designer alleged on Friday that the Android 4.0 leader violated a slide-to-unlock motion from iOS that was given the utility model status in Germany in 2006. Apple argued that it couldn't use the model until now as other phones, even ones years old, were too new for the claim.
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01/18, 5:05pm
Kodak claims Samsung violates camera patents
Kodak showed the mounting extent of its troubles Wednesday by suing Samsung over camera patents. It accused the Galaxy Tab designer of violating five patents for "electronic camera" technology, such as capturing photos during previews and transferring them online. It unusually singled out tablets, not smartphones, as purportedly infringing its work.
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01/17, 8:00pm
52 patents published in the last week alone
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued some 52 patents to Apple in the course of the last seven days, including 22 awarded on January 10th, an additional eight awarded on the 12th and a further 22 patents today. One of the most interesting is a "smart garment" patent that may foretell an expansion of the Nike+iPod line, along with a patent that hints at a future Apple TV. Others of note include a longer "trackbar" for notebooks with secondary zones, and what may end up being another Apple attempt at a headset for the iPhone.
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01/17, 11:00am
Deal terms could render Apple immune to some suits
Samsung has formally requested details of the contract between Apple and wireless supplier Qualcomm, the Korea Times reports. The action was taken through a US District Court in California, and is intended to discover whether a cross-licensing deal between Samsung and Qualcomm means that "Apple's buying Qualcomm chips is as good as paying for the patents." Depending on the exact arrangement, Apple may be immune to related patent infringement lawsuits from Samsung.
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01/13, 6:20pm
Apple denied trade complaint versus Motorola
The International Trade Commission in a ruling (PDF) on Friday denied Apple's complaint against Motorola. Administrative Law Judge Theodore Essex didn't explain what the reason for the rejection had been in the case, which had accused Motorola of violating three patents mostly relating to touchscreens. The ruling is an initial one and will require final approval.
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01/12, 12:45pm
LG licenses Microsoft patents, explores partners
LG on Thursday became the latest company steered into signing a patent license deal with Microsoft. The Spectrum designer has agreed to pay Microsoft an unknown amount for "broad coverage" both on Android and Chrome OS despite LG not yet having a Chromebook on the market. Unlike past such licenses, however, Microsoft didn't issue a boilerplate observation that LG was paying royalties, leaving the door open to a lump sum.
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01/11, 8:45pm
Ranked 39th among companies in the US
Apple is widely recognized as one of the most innovative companies in technology, and also the most valuable, but when it comes to patents it is ranked 39th among companies with inventions patented in the US in 2011, AppleInsider reports. The ranking is a significant improvement for the Mac maker over last year, when it was awarded 563 patents and was rated number 46. IBM and Samsung were the two top-rated companies.
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01/10, 7:00pm
Fallout from 2010 patent litigation case
Nuevas Tecnologias y Engergías Catalá (NT-K) has filed charges against Apple in Spain, alleging that the company went too far in its ultimately-unsuccessful 2010 patent litigation and crossed the line into extortion, FOSS Patents reports. The company, which manufactures its own Android-based tablet with a familiar look, won a case brought against it by Apple accusing the company of counterfeiting, but did suffer a short-term customs ban.
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01/10, 4:50pm
Complaints involve image transmission
Kodak today filed two patent lawsuits against Apple and HTC, Bloomberg reports. Shared in common between the two cases are four patents involving image transmission; one example involves a method of sharing images directly from a camera. HTC is accused of violating a fifth patent, related to image previews.
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01/05, 1:30pm
Italy shoots down Samsung attempt to ban iPhone 4S
A Milan-based court has denied Samsung's attempt to get a preliminary Italian ban on the iPhone 4S. Most details are currently unknown. The denial doesn't exonerate Apple but will likely let it keep the iPhone 4S on sale until its replacement arrives.
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01/05, 7:35am
Apple manages tiny settlement to dodge Elan suit
Apple on Thursday opted to settle to end Elan's lawsuit over two multi-touch patents. Elan said Apple had paid a relatively small $5 million to avoid a final trial and a possible ban on iOS devices and Macs. The two would cross-license patents as part of the exchange, although it's not clear what Apple would give up in return.
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01/04, 8:00pm
Award for using iOS device as flash drive also
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has given Apple a total of 13 patents today, covering a wide range of topics from the design of the Thunderbolt Display to the (at the time) revolutionary interface for managing lists in iOS. The latter is an important patent that may be leveraged in future litigation, as most other smartphone competitors have copied it fairly closely in their own implementations. Apple was also given a patent for its now-discontinued Bluetooth headset.
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01/04, 3:40pm
Kodak readying Chapter 11 filing as precaution
Kodak is drafting Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings in the event it can't sell patents in the next few weeks, insiders asserted Wednesday. The proposed plan seen by the Wall Street Journal would see the camera legend possibly enter bankruptcy later this month or in early February. The reorganization would see it get $1 billion of debtor-in-possession funding and sell its entire library of 1,100 patents through a bankruptcy auction rather than a typical process.
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01/03, 7:30pm
Settlement payout continues through 2018
TiVo has announced that it has settled a patent dispute with AT&T, as both companies have entered into a licensing agreement. AT&T is said to have agreed to pay TiVo a total of $215 million, split between an initial payment of $51 million and recurring quarterly payments through 2018 totaling $164 million.
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01/03, 1:20pm
Google tries to counter patent wars with more IBM
Google has quietly escalated its attempts to mount a defense for Android by getting more IBM patents. An acquisition recorded December 30 gave Google 217 more active and pending patents primarily focused on cellphones, mobile web browsers, and voice search. Among the examples are a patent for a "computer phone," another for a method of resizing websites for mobile, and a third for voice-based keyword searches.
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12/30, 7:05pm
Kodak SEC filing board loses third member
Kodak saw its hopes of bouncing back fade on Friday after it filed twice with the SEC to say three board members had resigned. Adam Clammer and Herald Chen were reported as having left on Tuesday, while Laura Tyson was now known to have left as of the Friday release. Neither release gave an indication as to the reasons for leaving.
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12/28, 1:55am
Also Photo Booth and YouTube app icon
Apple has won patents on a wide range of endeavors, from an important patent covering the recognition method used by the multi-touch screens on iOS devices to a design patent covering the look of the YouTube icon in iOS. Among a total of 18 patents awarded earlier today, Apple also scored a design patent on its own brand of battery charger, as well as patents on the Photo Booth application for Macs as well as an as-yet-unreleased app tailored to fitness centers.
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12/27, 11:50pm
M-Edge claims Amazon altered deals after the fact
Kindle case designer M-Edge quietly sued Amazon on Thursday last week for what it claims is anti-competitive attempts to silence a rival. It accused Amazon of both unfair competition as well as false advertising, interfering with customers, and violating a case design patent. Amazon had reportedly breached a three-year contract by first asking M-Edge for a 15 percent cut in November 2009 but, just two months later, hiking the rate to 32 percent and threatening M-Edge with being pulled as a third-party dealer if it didn't agree.
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12/27, 11:15am
USPTO gives Google a break on key patent
The US Patent and Trademark Office gave Google a rare break late last week in further scaling back Oracle's limited patent claims in a lawsuit over Android's code. A total of 17 of the 21 claims of the patent were rejected, including one claim that Oracle had been leveling against Google. Oracle has until February 20 to challenge the rejection.
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12/23, 1:25pm
Judge leans towards Apple over Motorola in case
Apple might have a counter to Motorola's German patent lawsuit win with one of its own. A Munich hearing attended by Florian Mueller saw the judge "rather convinced" towards the end that Android's Gallery app at least partly violates an Apple patent in Europe. Based on impressions, it was likely that the court would issue a ban with a more lasting decision on February 16.
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12/22, 1:30pm
Apple takes unusually political tone in filings
Two newly-published patent applications suggest Apple interest in building fuel cells into MacBooks. The pair are titled Fuel Cell System to Power a Portable Computing Device and Fuel Cell System Coupled to a Portable Computing Device. In both, Apple adopts an unusually political stance as justification. "Our country's continuing reliance on fossil fuels has forced our government to maintain complicated political and military relationships with unstable governments in the Middle East, and has also exposed our coastlines and our citizens to the associated hazards of offshore drilling," the documents read. "These problems have led to an increasing awareness and desire on the part of consumers to promote and use renewable energy sources."
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12/21, 11:20am
Samsung hopes to invalidate Apple tablet patent
Samsung in hoping to appeal the Galaxy Tab ban in Germany has brought forward a US patent that it claims might invalidate Apple's European design rights. The utility patent for a flat-panel display was published 13 days before Apple received its EU rights. Judge Wilhelm Berneke, overseeing the case, didn't rule out Apple still having some case but said that the new details could limit the scope of what claims it could level against Samsung.
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12/21, 12:30am
Also on micro-perforated display
Apple was awarded a total of eight patents today by the US Patent and Trademark Office, with notable selections including a patent on the design of the current-generation iPod shuffle, one for iOS' ability to visually signal users that they can jump back into a call while using applications, and one for a micro-perforated coating that allows light to pass through while giving the appearance of solidity (such as the function light on the Apple Bluetooth keyboard).
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12/20, 5:35pm
ITC makes early ruling against Motorola
Microsoft achieved a key win as the ITC ruled in its favor in a complaint against Motorola. An early ruling from the trade agency found that some Motorola devices allegedly violate one of seven Microsoft patents. The Windows maker's deputy general counsel David Howard took the company's typical approach in a response, saying Microsoft was "pleased" and arguing that every Android device maker must pay royalties.
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12/19, 5:40pm
Apple wins definitively against HTC in ITC case
(Update: HTC statement) Apple scored a major coup Monday after the International Trade Commission ruled in favor of Apple in a repeatedly delayed decision as to whether HTC was violating Apple patents. An administrative law judge upheld the view that HTC was violating two claims. Some unnamed devices would be banned starting from April 19 to give times for carriers to switch to other hardware.
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12/19, 2:55pm
Mosaid bought by Sterling Fund Management
Frequent patent-based attacker Mosaid on Monday said its shareholders had greenlit a plan that would sell the company to Sterling Fund Management for $570 million, or slightly less than the $590 million mentioned in October. It should close by the end of this week. Sterling's exact aims weren't mentioned with the deal.
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12/19, 2:05pm
No obvious motivation mentioned
Apple may be intentionally delaying the creation of a formal standard for how touchscreen devices interact with web content, claims Haavard, one of the developers behind the Opera web browser. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is currently at work on the standard, known as the Touch Events Specification. Apple, though, has allegedly submitted "invalid or irrelevant" patent claims in a way that is holding up the specification's progress.
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12/18, 6:15pm
BT says Android and more violate its patents
British Telecom has continued its legal campaigns in technology by suing Google for allegedly infringing on its patents in an action filed on Thursday. The Delaware-based complaint, caught by Florian Mueller, accused Google of violating six patents for telecoms and navigation through its development of Android, Google Maps, and related services like AdMob, Google+, Places, and even basic search. BT considers the supposed violations "willful" and is asking for tripled damages as a result.
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12/16, 11:10pm
Judge reschedules decision to Dec. 20th
U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Theodore Essex has delayed his ruling for another four days in the high-stakes trial between Microsoft and Motorola Mobility. The new date for a decision, which was due today, is December 20th. The case is the first real test of Microsoft's claim that it effectively owns large parts of the Android OS through patents, and a win would bar certain Android phones and the Xoom tablet from being sold.
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12/16, 7:25pm
ITC finds enough to reexamine Apple exoneration
An administrative law judge at the International Trade Commission said on Friday that it would review one of the patent findings in its determination that Apple didn't violate HTC patents. The examination leaves the possibility that the agency could find Apple violating one of four patents HTC leveled in its countering dispute. It's not clear when the verdict will arrive.
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12/16, 8:45am
Samsung decides 3G lawsuit strategy not working
Samsung has switched up its attempts to countersue Apple, according to reports from the key battleground court in Mannheim, Germany. The Korean firm was said by Florian Mueller to have given up its failed attempts to sue Apple over 3G standards. It now accepts Apple's point of view that the 3G license was already covered by paying for the Qualcomm chip in devices like the iPhone 4S, although it didn't waive the right to leverage 3G patents again.
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12/15, 5:00pm
Google granted patent for autonomous cars
Google has been awarded a US patent for driverless cars, dubbed the Transitioning a Mixed-mode Vehicle to Autonomous Mode. The intellectual rights outline how a vehicle would switch between autonomous operation and a human-controlled one. The car would look at many parameters, including its location and in which direction to drive.
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12/15, 12:10pm
Could be used to push sales at home or retail
Apple has been contemplating a system by which iPhone, iPad, and iPod users could automatically get recommendations related to apps or accessories they own, notes AppleInsider. A newly-published US patent application from the company illustrates a concept in which people could connect an accessory to a device and get a list of apps compatible with it. In reverse, users could receive a list of accessories supported by installed apps. "With the number of available accessories growing at an exponential rate," Apple claims, "it is often difficult for a user to determine which accessory supports which software application and vice versa."
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12/13, 12:15pm
Seeks block on Apple use of concepts
Seattle-based Cequint, a division of TNS, is suing Apple over two patents for caller ID technology, Bloomberg reports. The company is pursuing unspecified damages, as well as a court order that would halt Apple's use of the patented concepts. "Cequint has been damaged by Apple’s infringement," and will be "irreparably harmed" unless the court intervenes, according to the complaint. As is standard, Apple has yet to comment on the matter.
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12/10, 2:05am
Apple has unusual Digitude pact on mobile patents
Apple may have been pressed into an unusual deal with a company to avoid a legal dispute. An ITC complaint (PDF) from Digitude Innovations, a company commonly seen as a patent troll through its lack of real products, is using two patents formerly owned by Apple as well as two more to push for royalties or a ban on Amazon, HTC, LG, Nokia, RIM, Samsung, and Sony. Although routed through Cliff Island, a shell company for Digitude's funding firm Altitude Capital Partners, a "Digitude-Apple" license document at the ITC confirms that Digitude had made the deal with Apple directly.
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12/09, 6:30pm
ITC agrees Nokia and Mosaid should give info
Barnes & Noble got an important win late this week after the ITC agreed (PDF) to make requests to Canada and Finland for evidence from patent holder Mosaid as well as Nokia. The calls would have Mosaid supply documents for its deal with Nokia through a letter rogatory, or a non-binding request to a foreign court. Nokia, meanwhile, would be asked for testimony from CEO Stephen Elop and other executives under the Hague Convention's Article 3, in which case the court wouldn't have much choice but to comply.
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12/09, 8:20am
Motorola gets German win blocking iPhone, 3G iPads
Motorola won a more definitive verdict against Apple than its default judgment on Friday after a Mannheim court ruled that Apple had violated one of the 3G-related patents. The determination would ban any of Apple's 3G devices, including some iPad models and all iPhones predating the iPhone 4S. Apple might have the opportunity to either license the patent to avoid the ban or else design around it, although the last option is unlikely.
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