Apple fights to save Christmas sales

“We’re going to appeal the court’s ruling right away,” Apple said in a statement emailed to Dow Jones Newswire. “Holiday shoppers in Germany should have no problem finding the iPad or iPhone they want.”

Motorola said in a press release that the court found Apple’s European sales company, Ireland-based Apple Sales International, was infringing on a Motorola cellular communications patent used in iPhones and iPads.

At the start of November, a Mannheim court made the default decision to stop the sales on iPhones and iPads after Apple did not attempt to debunk Motorola’s patent infringement claims.

The court granted Motorola’s requests for an injunction and damages, Motorola said.

An earlier Apple statement said the ruling was simply a “procedural issue,” that “does not affect our ability to sell products or do business in Germany at this time.”

There is a long-running patent dispute between Apple and Motorola over mobile technology. Apple has been aggressively defending its technology, even succeeding in having some competing Android devices temporarily banned in Germany earlier this year. Motorola is currently in the process of being purchased by Google, which makes the Android operating system.

In September, a court in Düsseldorf sided with Apple in a dispute against Samsung over the South Korean company’s Galaxy tablet, which Apple said was too similar to the iPad.

AFP/The Local/bk