iPad vs. Motorola. Round One: iPad Banned in Germany

07 Nov 2011 | News | Ali Gorelova on Google+

Germans currently can’t buy iPads and iPhones in their country. Motorola decided to suit Apple, and as a result, the company is now banned from marketing and supplying its devices in Germany. Such default judgement was issued last Friday by a regional court.

It is strange that Apple could not defend itself as the company simply did not appear at a court last week. Motorola claims that the company has violated patents in the iDevices.

As you might know, Google is working hard to buy Motorola, the company that makes Android gadgets. Motorola, in its turn, is trying to ban sales of Apple gadgets till the hearings go on. The battle between two well-known companies continues.

What did Apple have to say about the suit? You should agree that its absence at the court didn’t look great on the company based inCalifornia.

So far the company left a message assuring that the court’s decision is just “a procedural issue” and it “has nothing to do with the merits of the case”.

Is it true? We don’t know. Maybe it is related to the fact that the case’s respondent is Apple Inc., the American parent company, and not its local subsidiary Apple GmbH. The enforcement of the injunction is unclear, as the suit does not relate to the German subsidiary.

Apple is sure that the judgement will not affect its capacity to sell iPads and iPhones inGermany.

As internet blogs mention, the online store inGermanyis run by Apple Inc. But it continues to deliver its devices to the German branch as the online store offers customers to buy iDevices.

If the default judgement is enforced, Apple will have to pay fees, up to $345,000 for each of the two violations. The court may even call for a half-year prison sentence for the company’s execs.

Apple is probably getting its appeal together. It has a couple of weeks to file objections to the judgement as the case wasn’t debated last week. We should remind you that Apple previously used to ban some of Samsung’s tablet computers for the short term. The company is currently occupied with several battles with Android manufacturers across the world.