Apple wins patent verdict in Munich, expands US lawsuit

Feb 16, 2012, 21:09 GMT

Munich/San Francisco - Apple has won an important victory in its patent dispute with Motorola in Germany just days after filing a major patent violation case against Samsung in the US.

The developments intensify the battle between Apple and Google over claims that Google copied aspects of the iPhone's operating system when it developed its own Android operating system for mobile devices. Google is soon to complete a 12.5-billion-dollar takeover of Motorola, while Samsung is the largest manufacturer of Android-based phones.

In Munich, the District Court ruled Thursday that Motorola's Android phones were a breach of Apple's Slide to Unlock patent, giving the US company the ability to request an injunction against violating devices in Germany. Motorola is expected to appeal the ruling or change its phones to circumvent the alleged patent violation.

Nevertheless, leading patent blogger Florian Mueller said the ruling shows 'that the noose keeps tightening around Android's neck in many ways.'

'Today's ruling is significant bad news for Android at large, and Google,' Mueller said.

Mueller also revealed that Apple had recently expanded its US patent violation case in northern California against Samsung from four to eight alleged violations, and from one to 17 products, including smartphones, media players and tablet computers.

'This lawsuit is going to be huge,' Mueller wrote on his website Fosspatents.