Motorola wins injunction against Apple, could spell trouble for EU sales

Motorola Mobility won an important injunction against Apple in Germany, which could potentially bar Apple's European sales arm from selling iPhones and 3G-equipped iPads.

At issue is a Motorola patent for cellular data transmission, part of wireless data transmission standards that are encumbered by an agreement to license the patent on "fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory" terms. The ruling suggests that, at least in Germany, raising a FRAND defense against standards-essential patent infringement claims could be a difficult proposition, and may force Apple to accept Motorola's licensing terms—FRAND or not—for "past infringement." The FRAND defense has worked for Apple elsewhere, including in lawsuits brought by Samsung in The Netherlands and France. The basic argument is that suing over standards-essential patents instead of working out a FRAND agreement amounts to violation of anti-competition laws. Without some legal barrier to suing over such patents, they could potentially be used as a club to thwart any would-be competitors once they have built products incorporating a particular technology standard. The European patent in suit, EP1010336 (B1) "Method for Performing a Countdown Function During a Mobile-Originated Transfer for a Packet Radio System," is part of the General Packet Radio Service standard upon which 2G and 3G data services operate. Basically, that means that all Apple products that use 3G data—including all iPhones and all 3G-capable iPads—use the patented technology.