Motorola injunction against Apple push services upheld in Germany

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014


German iOS device owners will be without push notifications for an extended period of time as a German court denied Apple's appeal to halt a Motorola ban on the service used by iCloud and MobileMe.



A spokeswoman for the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court, which handles appeals for the circuit within which the Mannheim Regional Court belongs, confirmed on Friday that an Apples attempt to suspend the injunction imposed by Motorola had been denied on Wednesday, reports FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller.



"We are pleased with [Wednesday's] ruling in Germany denying Apple's motion to stay the injunction related to our push email patent. We will continue to protect our intellectual property," Motorola said in a statement.



Apple's German push notification stoppage was the direct result of a Motorola court case regarding data pushing technology, and was first revealed in a support document posted to the company's website. The telecommunications giant won the injunction in early February, though chose not to leverage the ruling until later that month presumably due to deliberation over whether to post the 100 million euro bond required to enforce the ban.



Motorola first filed the patent complaint at the Mannheim Regional Court in April, 2011, and Judge Andreas Voss subsequently handed down the "preliminarily enforceable" ruling in favor of the RAZR maker.



Push technology allows users to receive email and notifications instantly without having to "pull" the data from a server. The system was popularized by Research in Motion's BlackBerry platform, with Apple adding the service to MobileMe and subsequently iCloud.



Wednesday's decision to uphold the injunction means that German iCloud or MobileMe users could be without push notifications for a year or more as the issue moves through the appeals process. iOS devices are only affected within the confines of Germany, and regain push functionality once outside the country's borders.



Certain workarounds like timed retrieval of messages can serve as a stop-gap until Apple either wins an appeal or comes to an agreement with Motorola.



Apple has the option to appeal again, though it is likely that the company has presented all arguments and will have to wait and see if other ongoing cases against Motorola bring new cause for a reexamination of the case. As the two companies continue their German patent battle, it is unclear what effect the appeal denial will have on future proceedings regarding certain FRAND patents that apply to wireless technology.



Apple recently won two key injunctions against Motorola, one regarding a photo gallery patent and another over a handset's slide-to-unlock mechanism.



With Google's takeover of Motorola Mobility looming, Germany has become an important battleground for the overarching iOS versus Android patent war.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 27
    Do you want to see something good destroyed? Just create it...
  • Reply 2 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by igorleandro View Post


    Do you want to see something good destroyed? Just create it...



    I think the argument is who created it first...
  • Reply 3 of 27
    mechanicmechanic Posts: 805member
    Yawn.
  • Reply 4 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    German iOS device owners will be without push notifications for an extended period of time as a German court denied Apple's appeal to halt a Motorola ban on the service used by iCloud and MobileMe.




    Apple has GOT to stop stealing IP from other companies. If they cannot innovate, they should pay the price and license it from them.



    It is unseemly that they steal from other companies. It is giving them a bad reputation.
  • Reply 5 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post


    Apple has GOT to stop stealing IP from other companies. If they cannot innovate, they should pay the price and license it from them.



    It is unseemly that they steal from other companies. It is giving them a bad reputation.



    You should read more and write less. jmho
  • Reply 6 of 27
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    I thought NTP had the push email patent.
  • Reply 7 of 27
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    There really isn't much difference between what is being called 'push' email and regular email. As I understand it, the push variety leaves an open idle connection to the server so when new mail comes in the server tells the client to go get it. So it is not really pushing the mail but instead sending a command. If you set your email to check every minute it is nearly as efficient at getting the mail promptly. I'm not sure which uses less battery resources.



    The main thing about iCloud and MobileMe is the contacts and calendar syncing which can't be worked around so easily. The article does not mention that aspect of the service that is infringing. I don't recall if contact and calendar syncing was part of the original injunction or not.
  • Reply 8 of 27
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    There really isn't much difference between what is being called 'push' email and regular email. As I understand it, the push variety leaves an open idle connection to the server so when new mail comes in the server tells the client to go get it. So it is not really pushing the mail but instead sending a command. If you set your email to check every minute it is nearly as efficient at getting the mail promptly. I'm not sure which uses less battery resources.



    The main thing about iCloud and MobileMe is the contacts and calendar syncing which can't be worked around so easily. The article does not mention that aspect of the service that is infringing. I don't recall if contact and calendar syncing was part of the original injunction or not.



    I don't think all push email are alike. BBs have always had great battery life because the device does not actively retrieve emails, RIMs server farm gets the email and then sends it to the device. I'm guessing Apple and Google use a different method because RIM nor NTP has never sued either.



    I'm curious though, what patent does Motorola hold in Germany that it doesn't hold here in the states?
  • Reply 9 of 27
    A hundred million euro bond to temporarily stop Apple push services in Germany. You gotta be kidding. Trollarola could forfeit the whole hundred million if Apple prevails in the appeal. Trollarola is hoping this will damage Apple enough to force a settlement (highly unlikely) or, more likely, convince Google that Trollarola's patents are worth the $12.5 billion sale price to Google.



    In any case Google inherits a big legal headache and a hundred million euro liability if the buy Trollarola now, which means Google's not buying anything until the appeal is heard. If Trollarola looses the appeal they forfeit the 100 million euros and they can forget about the sale to Google. And that's the end of Trollarola.



    Showdown at the OK corral! Stay tuned !!
  • Reply 10 of 27
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post


    Apple has GOT to stop stealing IP from other companies.



    It hasn't been proven that they did.



    then again you take such great delight in bashing Apple that you don't bother with things like details or truth
  • Reply 11 of 27
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dasanman69 View Post


    I don't think all push email are alike.



    That could be the key in the case. Is Apple using the same tech or even technique to achieve the same end result. It could be that they are not. And if they are not then they haven't validated the patent.



    And if the patent is on the mere idea of push email then they may be able to argue that they added tech and thus created a new product through vast improvement.
  • Reply 12 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mightymike View Post


    A hundred million euro bond to temporarily stop Apple push services in Germany. You gotta be kidding. Trollarola could forfeit the whole hundred million if Apple prevails in the appeal. Trollarola is hoping this will damage Apple enough to force a settlement (highly unlikely) or, more likely, convince Google that Trollarola's patents are worth the $12.5 billion sale price to Google.



    In any case Google inherits a big legal headache and a hundred million euro liability if the buy Trollarola now, which means Google's not buying anything until the appeal is heard. If Trollarola looses the appeal they forfeit the 100 million euros and they can forget about the sale to Google. And that's the end of Trollarola.



    Showdown at the OK corral! Stay tuned !!



    You may be right, you may have a point (you don't)...etc etc...but it's really hard to take people seriously when they post a stupid version of a company's name.



    Crapple

    Samsux

    Trollarola

    etc, etc, etc.



    Changing the names doesn't enforce your point and just makes any post containing such idiocy seem childish despite other content.



    #TheMoreYouKnow
  • Reply 13 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


    It hasn't been proven that they did.



    then again you take such great delight in bashing Apple that you don't bother with things like details or truth



    I don't think you get what he's doing.



    He's mocking
  • Reply 14 of 27
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AbsoluteDesignz View Post


    He's mocking



    But why? To what end? Has he forgotten what happened to the last account based entirely around Poe's Law?
  • Reply 15 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    But why? To what end? Has he forgotten what happened to the last account based entirely around Poe's Law?



    why? I dunno...I find it funny but I have an obvious bias...I see no point to it other than to point out the absurdity of the word "stolen" in these situations and it's overuse when it's Apple suing others...even if Apple loses the case.
  • Reply 16 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AbsoluteDesignz View Post


    You may be right, you may have a point (you don't)...etc etc...but it's really hard to take people seriously when they post a stupid version of a company's name.



    Crapple

    Samsux

    Trollarola

    etc, etc, etc.



    Changing the names doesn't enforce your point and just makes any post containing such idiocy seem childish despite other content.



    #TheMoreYouKnow



    Your point is well taken (not really), Trollarola emphasizes the patent troll that Motorola has degenerated into and is appropriate in this context. How long have you been working for Trollarolla, I mean Motorola.
  • Reply 17 of 27
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    Moto is an old whore way past her sell-by date, out for money.



    A last gasp from a lousy company that makes lousy products, backed by lousy service.
  • Reply 18 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mightymike View Post


    Your point is well taken (not really), Trollarola emphasizes the patent troll that Motorola has degenerated into and is appropriate in this context. How long have you been working for Trollarolla, I mean Motorola.



    That's just his point of view... I rather liked Trollarola and didn't find anything childish about it.



    AD admires poes... something I find childish.
  • Reply 19 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    That's just his point of view... I rather liked Trollarola and didn't find anything childish about it.



    AD admires poes... something I find childish.



    You would. The only thing faulty in his comments to you is that you know he doesn't believe what he says when he's Poe-ing and is in fact mocking.



    Had he been an established AI pro-Apple poster he'd be quoted with +1s no matter how ridiculous his comments are as evidenced by the sometimes adoration of Apple ][ (thankfully the more mature posters realize the manure he spews even when he supports their POV)
  • Reply 20 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mightymike View Post


    Your point is well taken (not really), Trollarola emphasizes the patent troll that Motorola has degenerated into and is appropriate in this context. How long have you been working for Trollarolla, I mean Motorola.



    So Motorola doesn't have the right to protect it's intellectual property without being a patent troll yet Apple does?



    Do you understand why Zither exists now?



    PS. I think this is all BS...there are few cases I support (bounce back for one, and this new revision on slide to unlock as it seems much more specific and definitely should be Apple's) but for the most part a lot of these cases seem more stifling innovation than anything IMO.
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