The iPhone 4S
UPDATE: Motorola Mobility has enforced a patent injunction against Apple, resulting in certain iPad and iPhone models being removed from its German online store. However, Apple has begun restoring its online stores in Germany after receiving a temporary suspension of the injunction.
In December, Motorola won a ruling at a court in Mannheim, where the judge decided Apple had failed to license one of Motorola’s wireless patents.
The ruling has resulted in Apple’s European sales subsidiary in Cork taking down older iPhone models and 3G-based iPads from Apple’s German online store. Only the latest iPhone 4S and Wi-Fi only iPads remain on sale on the e-commerce store.
However, later today it emerged that Apple had the injunction temporarily suspended and is now working to restore the products on its German e-commerce store.
Apple plans to appeal the ruling on the basis that Motorola Mobility, which is now owned by Google, refuses to license the patent on what it calls “reasonable terms”. Apple points out that Motorola declared the patent in question an “industry standard” patent several years ago.
A separate case could also see iPhone users lose their iCloud push email service.
