Apple wins an injunction against Motorola in German court

IDG News Service - Apple has won an injunction potentially requiring Motorola Mobility to recall infringing smartphones, in the two companies' ongoing patent battle in Germany, according to a blogger following the case.

Presiding Judge Peter Guntz granted Apple the injunction on Thursday, according to Florian Mueller, a patent analyst who writes the FOSS Patents blog. Apple has accused Motorola of infringing its patent for a portable electronic device for photo management.

The ruling relates to a software feature associated with some functions when viewing photos in a zoomed-in mode, Motorola said in a statement. "We note that the court ruled that performing the functions in a 'zoomed out' mode does not infringe on this patent," the company said. "We expect no impact to supply or future sales as we have already implemented a new way to view photos on our products that does not interfere with the user experience."

A Apple did not respond to a request for comments on the ruling.

Apple could require Motorola to destroy or recall infringing devices, Mueller wrote on his blog. However, Motorola "will undoubtedly be able to keep selling its products in Germany by modifying its operating software," he wrote.

Apple and Motorola, which is being acquired by Google, have been engaged in a patent infringement fight stretching from the U.S. to Europe for several months.

Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's e-mail address is grant_gross@idg.com.