A court injunction has ruled against Apple, meaning it can no longer sell its iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and 3G iPad 2 products online in Germany.
Always the one in the news for slapping patent lawsuits on other companies such as HTC and Samsung, this time the roles are reversed as Motorola has won an injunction against the Cupertino Company in a German court.
According to reports, Apple’s iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and 3G iPad 2 products all infringe upon a key patent relating to 3G technologies that Motorola happens to hold. The iPhone 4S does not infringe on the same patents due to different parts used to build the product, and as such it is now the only iPhone that you can buy from Apple’s online store in Germany.
If you head over to apple.com/de and try to buy an iPhone 4 or 3GS, you’ll be greeted with the message “Derzeit nicht verfügbar”, which translates roughly as “currently not available”. We don’t know just how long the ban will last or whether Apple will succeed in overturning the ruling, though we do know that the three products are only banned online. If you’re based in Germany and hoping to pick up a 3GS, iPhone 4 or 3G iPad 2, your best bet is to head to a retail store, where you’ll be able to buy one with no problems.
We’re not sure why the injunction is only taking place in Germany, as Apple’s products will surely be infringing on copyrights worldwide. A trend has been emerging as of late with big tech companies filing injunctions in Germany, such as the Apple/Samsung battle over the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 10.1N. Perhaps it’s the preferred country for getting things done.
UPDATE: This has got to be some sort of record. Apple has overturned the ruling against its three products, which will now go back on sale in its German webstore shortly. Apple issued a statement this afternoon:
“All iPad and iPhone models will be back on sale through Apple’s online store in Germany shortly. Apple appealed this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago.”
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Source: Apple.com/de