Apple’s Patent Win over Motorola Spurs Quick Android Fix

Google is prepping a workaround for the Android mobile platform to replace the technology at the heart of an Apple lawsuit against Motorola Mobility in Germany. A court in Munich ruled Thursday that Motorola’s current handset unlocking technology infringed on an Apple patent governing the unlocking of a device by performing gestures on an unlock image.

Industry observers have noted that the court’s ruling is a permanent injunction that Apple can now attempt to enforce if it posts a bond. Given that Motorola has the option of appealing the court’s decision, however, Apple would face a financial risk if it quickly moved to block Motorola’s handset sales in Germany and then lost an appellate court decision.

Furthermore, the immediate effect of Thursday’s ruling on Motorola’s handset sales in Germany would be minimal, given that Motorola is already introducing a new software workaround.

“Motorola has implemented a new design for the feature,” a Motorola Mobility spokesperson said in an e-mail Friday. “Therefore, we expect no impact on current supply or future sales.”

A Win For Apple

Still, Thursday’s ruling by Munich-based Judge Dr. Peter Guntz could potentially end up having a significant effect on Motorola Mobility, which Google is poised to acquire once all antitrust reviews have been completed by regulatory bodies around the world.

“There’s no question that [Motorola] can keep their products available by modifying them,” noted FOSS Patents blogger Florian Mueller. “But even with the current scope, this is largely a win for Apple.”

Google filed a new “input to locked computing device” patent application at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 9. The move suggests that the Internet giant had been anticipating an Apple victory well in advance of the Munich court’s final judgment.

Google’s own patent filing describes several new methods for enabling user inputs…
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