German Court Leans in Motorola’s Favor in iCloud Infringement Claims, Could Cost Apple $2.7 Billion
Motorola has filed a suit in a German court claiming elements of Apple’s iCloud service infringe upon patents held by company. Namely, the patents concern email and data sync between Apple’s cloud service and their mobile devices. The judge presiding over the case has not come to any ruling for the moment, but seems to be leaning in Motorola’s favor. Apple requested $2.7 billion in collateral should the final verdict agree with Motorola’s initial claims. In the German court system, this collateral is paid by the winning party to defer any lost revenue during the appeals process. Should Apple win an appeal (a stage the case has not even reached), they keep the money to cover damages. If they lose the appeal process, Motorola should see the money back.
The sum may never be placed on the table. The judge questions if Apple would really incur such losses, and believes there are alternative ways to offer the cloud services without infringing on the patents of Motorola. The trail will go to court in February of 2012.
[via Electronista]