iPhones May Be Banned In Germany Following Motorola Court Win

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Apple’s legal battles–both as a plaintiff and as defendant–have been going on for months now, but one new case has concluded in German courts, and the result for Apple is not good. And the damage may be sufficient to take most of Apple’s biggest names off shelves in Germany.

Basically, what happened here is that German courts have ruled that every iPhone until the iPhone 4S, as well as both3G iPads, are infringing on a Motorola patent that’s pretty much essential to the GPRS standard. And the only reason the iPhone 4S isn’t on the chopping block this time, according to reports, is because the iPhone 4S didn’t actually exist when Motorola filed the lawsuit. Some have speculated that the iPhone 4S actually contains the same infringing technology as the other models.

For those of you who remember the last time Motorola won in Germany, you might be a bit nonplussed, as that victory reportedly ended in something of a fizzle, not having any real consequences for users. This one, however, proves different as Motorola can now reportedly file a 100 million Euro (around $133 million US) bond with the German government, and get an injunction against sales of Apple products in Germany.Naturally an appeal is expected from Apple, but whether or not that appeal will come in time to save their products will remain to be seen.

Considering that Germany is easily one of the largest economies–some might even say the largest–in Europe, a ban to Apple’s sales there would be a pretty big blow even to a giant such as Apple. But with an appeal likely to follow, the impact of same may not be as pronounced as it might be. It’s even possible that Motorola may take its patent win to demand some kind of licensing royalty or the like from Apple. It will all just depend how the case shakes out over the next few weeks.

So what do you guys think about this one? Time to buy an iOS device while you still can? Or just a little corporate maneuvering that won’t affect the regular person too much? No matter what you think about it, we always like hearing from you, so head on down to the comments section and let’s talk iPhone!