German Court Upholds Ban On Push Email In Apple's iCloud, MobileMe 42
Posted
by
timothy
from the awfully-specific-aren't-we? dept.
from the awfully-specific-aren't-we? dept.
suraj.sun writes "A German regional court Friday backed an earlier court decision that banned Apple from offering push emails in Apple's iCloud and MobileMe services in Germany, granting Motorola Mobility a victory in a global patent war among several technology companies. The Mannheim regional court also said Apple must pay damages to Motorola Mobility, but didn't specify the amount."
another sad example (Score:5, Insightful)
... how copyright and patent law holds back progress and stiffles competition -- all on the back of consumers.
Re:another sad example (Score:4, Insightful)
What has a patent dispute between Apple and Motorola to do with politics?
(Note: since both companies are American, this isn't even protectionism for the native industry.)
Re: (Score:1)
What has the law and its enforcement got to do with politics?
Pretty sure his next post will explain how the Military Industrial Complex is inventing these companies just to troll one another in patent fights in order to milk billions and billions of dollars more from innocent, unsuspecting world citizens while simultaneously funding World War III and helping Iran to create tons and tons of Uranium Pu-36 Explosive Space Modulators as well as the newer, more terrifying Illudium Pu-36 Explosive Space Modulators.
If you'd just open your eyes and stop believing what is
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
This!
How exactly do customers benefit from not having push emails in iCloud and MobileMe? Or, for that matter, from not having a cool slide-to-unlock on Android? They aren't. Logical consequence: These companies are not acting to serve customers anymore (no, I'm not cynic enough to declare that a premise).
On a side note, I'm starting to think like this: These companies chose to fight a patent war, so they have lost any justification for missing features. Ex.: Apple chose to fight a patent war, and missing p
Patents are not property (Score:5, Insightful)
Please refrain from using words as “thief” when writing about patents. Patents are a temporary monopoly awarded in exchange for publication of an idea. They have nothing to do with property. An idea can not be stolen. Using that kind of vocabulary only makes the patents and copyright's advocates' game.
On the other hand, you are perfectly right to underline that these kind of patents are ludicrous.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Please refrain from using words as “thief” when writing about patents. An idea can not be stolen.
Sure. Come up with an idea for a Star Trek movie. Pitch it to Paramount. They dismiss it out of hand, but then make a movie using that idea, and make a billion dollars. You get nothing. But that's okay, right? I mean, you've still got your idea sitting there in your head, right? So nothing was stolen?
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How exactly do customers benefit from not having push emails in iCloud and MobileMe? Or, for that matter, from not having a cool slide-to-unlock on Android? They aren't. Logical consequence: These companies are not acting to serve customers anymore (no, I'm not cynic enough to declare that a premise).
Sure they are. Motorola Mobility invented the technology, and is willing to let their customers use it. The problem is that Apple's customers are not paying Motorola Mobility for use of that technology. Appl
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How exactly do customers benefit from not having push emails in iCloud and MobileMe?
How do customers benefit from any patent on anything? The entire point of patents is to limit availability of a product. This is the case with every patent, not just this one.
And the benefit to customers is supposed to be that that product gets developed at all.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe so. But it's a great example of how a newish company shouldn't get into legal pissing matches with companies that have been around FOREVER and all but invented all the technology we use.
Apple has been what you could call a 'dickwad company' since woz left. Lawyers first. Talk second. They got some real lucky breaks with their latest ifad everything. But long term that alone wont cut it. And suing everyone won't either.
It's not suprising that attitude has come back to bite them in the ass. T
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"Insightful"? Really?
Troll is more like it.
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Oh I like it. Let everyone lose over patent wars. Besides killing useless patent pools, they will at one point discover that patents hurt more than they bring to the table and this whole patent shithole can be sealed of.
I have been waiting for the big guys to start fighting this war and I'm enjoying it! Only this way free software and the small guys can shake of the patent hell, since talking and protesting didn't work.
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You could almost say the Germans are being software patent Na...
Sorry, unintentional ellipses and double-spaced newline. As I was saying, it seems like the Germans are being quite the software patent naggers.
Enforcement? (Score:3)
This is the suit that Apple has attempted to end run the penalty by filing suit in the US against Motorola asking the courts to prevent Motorola from enforcing the ruling in Germany. The question I have is _in Germany_ who enforces court rulings? The petitioner, or an agent of the court?
It may be that since damages Apple must pay to Motorola are unspecified at this time, that the court in Germany may hold off on specifying them until the case in the US is decided. After all if the only penalty that Apple can declare has been adjudicated in Germany is that they can't offer the service without getting a patent licence, that may be all that the court in the US says they have to do, and there is nothing in the filing that is preventing Apple from doing that. If Apple seeks a license from Motorola, then Germany has a basis for declaring damages based on the negotiated license requirements.
Re:Enforcement? (Score:5, Informative)
The question I have is _in Germany_ who enforces court rulings? The petitioner, or an agent of the court?
Normal court rulings are enforced by the court itself, injunctions have to be enforced by the petitioner via a bailiff, according to de.wikipedia.
Re:Enforcement? (Score:4, Informative)
That was Microsoft that was attempting the end run
http://allthingsd.com/20120411/microsoft-says-ruling-in-motorola-case-will-prevent-an-injunction-at-least-for-now/ [allthingsd.com]
Re: (Score:1)
Every German court has bailiffs who enforce rulings (if necessary with Police) and hand over injunctions.
Injunctions are supposed to be adhered. If that doesn't happen the plaintiff can contact the court, his lawyer or the police (e.g. in case the of direct danger).
Then the department of public prosecution gets informed subsequently that the defendant did not adhere the Injunction. From that point on anything can happen with the defendant.
I am no lawyer but I don't think this is much different in other coun
Re: (Score:3)
Well, the parent mixed up two cases I think, because the end-run was actually done by MS.
However, let's ignore than and suppose that it was Apple. Nobody is questioning that the German court is able to enforce its injunctions, but only that such enforcement is likely to have little practical effect on the company it is issued against. The most the German court can do is block all imports of Apple products, and seize all Apple assets they have control over. Then all the US court has to do is have Motorola
Re: (Score:2)
To the several who corrected my misunderstanding, thank you.
Motoralla-Germany vs. Apple-USA (Score:2)
With all the recent injunctions against each other in the different countries, they should each pick a champion. 15 rounds, winner takes all, and the loser's fans have to chant "Rocky!" (What, I'm from Philadelphia.)
Ob (Score:2)
Anyone else read that as Putsch email?
Re:Ob (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyone else read that as Putsch email?
No.
Re:Bye Motorola (Score:5, Insightful)
If you don't buy phones from companies that have sued over patents, I'm pretty sure you'll remain phoneless. Unless you get an openmoko or something similar.
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Unless you get an openmoko or something similar.
Even then, e.g. FreeRunner runs on a Samsung SoC.
Mixed feelings (Score:1)
On one hand, people who sold their freedom for a few more blinking lights got exactly what they deserved. This is, at some level, deeply satisfying. The same went on, for example, when VLC had to be removed from the apple application store due to GPL incompatibility (and do not forgot that GPL is not just a license, it is a weapon against proprietary software and closed platforms: it was doing exactly what it was designed to do).
On the other hand, a court of justice upholding a trivial software patent is no
Re: (Score:2)
By "everyone" I assume you mean "Samsung".
How does this relate to Motorola, the FRAND abuser? At least this patent isn't covered by FRAND - I guess they got lucky and picked one that wasn't.
Icons in a grid and rounded corners really must have been "brilliant ideas" though, given that they sell the top 3 smartphones. Just a thought.
DISCLAIMER: Apple's lawsuit over slide to unlock and other nonsense are stupid. Some of this post may be facetious. YMMV.
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