A patent dispute over the “slide-to-lock” feature between Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MMI) in a German court has been decided in Apple’s favor. This marks the first clear patent win for Apple over Motorola anywhere in the world.
The ruling could set the stage for bigger battle between Apple and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) as the $12.5 billion acquisition by Google of Motorola nears its completion. Both US and European regulators have approved the takeover, although China has yet to rule.
A spokesperson for Motorola had this to say about the ruling:
Today’s ruling in the patent litigation brought by Apple in Munich, Germany, concerns a software feature related to phone unlocking in select Motorola devices sold in Germany. Motorola has implemented a new design for the feature. Therefore, we expect no impact on current supply or future sales.
Apple had no comment, but is pressing the same issue against other handset makers that use the Android operating system from Google. Once Google gains control of Motorola’s 17,000 patents the game will really be on.
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