The Federal Court of Appeals in Karlsruhe, Germany - the country's highest court - dismissed Apple's patent appeal that involved the "slide to unlock" functionality on mobile devices against Motorola Mobility on Tuesday, reaffirming a 2013 lower court decision.
"This user-friendly display was already suggested by the state of the art. The contested patent thus isn't based on an invention," the court explained, according to Reuters. The decision effectively cancels the German patent that Apple holds, which Motorola challenged in the 2013 case.
Apple maintains that the "slide to unlock" functionality is one of the defining features of its devices. Smartphones running on Android platforms have adopted and modified the same feature over the years. The German court, however, referred to the feature's similarity with an earlier technology found in a phone manufactured by Swedish company Neonode Inc. While it declared bankruptcy in 2008, the company still exists as an intellectual property firm, licensing its optical technology to mobile device manufacturers. Based on the Neonode N1 phone's substantially similar technical feature, the court decided that Apple's claim of its own take at the interface is without merit.
Apple and Motorola have yet to release a statement on the German court's ruling. Observers, however, are doubtful that the decision will settle the legal wrangling between Apple and other smartphone manufacturers. This is but one part of an ongoing legal war between Apple and Motorola, and courts in various countries have sided with each party at various times, The Inquirer noted.
Apple secured a Munich court injunction back in 2012 against Motorola based on the very same patent. That case is still pending on appeal and was stayed to wait for the outcome of Tuesday's suit, according to Bloomberg. It is not yet clear if the ruling will have an adverse effect on the Munich injunction.
