Motorola loses German patent battle against Apple

A GERMAN COURT has ruled that Motorola infringed an Apple interface patent, which means that the firm might have to recall its Android phones and tablets.

In the case Apple claimed that Motorola infringed its German patent EP2126678. Apple's patent involved the use of "over scroll bounce" technology that lets users bounce back to the middle of a webpage when they've reached the bottom by swiping down on the touchscreen.

According to Reuters, Apple's legal victory doesn't guarantee the final outcome of a ban on Motorola products. A German court spokesperson told the publication that Motorola still has the opportunity to appeal and Apple still needs to formally pay the 25mn euro bond before an injunction can go into effect.

The "over scroll bounce" patent ruling wasn't the first time Apple brought Motorola to a German court this year. A German judge dismissed an Apple request to ban sales of the Motorola Xoom over design patent infringement last July.

Apple has been riding a wave of legal victories recently. The company claimed a US patent victory against Samsung last month.

A California jury handed the legal victory to Apple claiming Samsung used patented Iphone design features and technology in its smartphones. The same jury awarded Apple $1bn in damages.

2012 has been an eventful year for Motorola. Google bought the company's mobile division for $12.5bn, and the buyout saw Google paying $5.5bn for Motorola patents alone.

Both Apple and Motorola were unavailable for comment at the time of publication. µ

This article was originally published on V3.