Apple Motorola Lawsuit: 'Significant Win Against Android' Says Microsoft Patent Consultant

It may be safe to say that Apple is dominating the mobile market, especially after a recent lawsuit against Motorola. The company has just won a patent debacle against Motorola in regards to Apple's staple slide to unlock feature on smartphones. The Munich Regional Court in Germany ruled that the competitor smartphone supplier infringes Apple's European patent, and the decision imposes a permanent injunction against Motorola devices.

The document, EP1964022, describes the patented material as unlocking a device by performing gestures on an unlock image. The court ruled a permanent injunction that Apple could enforce at its own risk.

There were three different embodiments that were evaluated, with Apple winning the two that applied to smartphone use and losing the third which involved Motorola's Xoom tablet. But the Mac manufacturer's victory marks the first patent triumph over Motorola in any part of the world, reported BBC News.

However, a company rep said business wouldn't be affected.

Motorola has implemented a new design for the feature. Therefore, we expect no impact on current supply or future sales, a Motorola spokeswoman said according to BBC.

The BBC also reported that Florian Mueller, a patent executive that has previously consulted for Microsoft, described the ruling as a very significant win for Apple against Android. Search engine giant Google is in the process of acquiring Motorola, and most of the company's handheld devices function on Apple's primary rival operating system, Android.

After Google closes the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, the Apple-Motorola Mobility dispute will soon gain importance transcending that of the global battle with Samsung, Mueller said to the BBC.

Some users flocked to Twitter to voice their opinions on the Apple vs. Motorola debate.

Amazing to think that Apple is currently worth 35x Motorola, one pro-Apple user tweeted.

Wow, this whole Apple and Motorola thing just never ends, another user wrote.

Mueller also said that the Apple triumph would result in a noticeable degradation of the user experience of Motorola's products, according to his software patent news blog.

The victory is a considerable plot twist for the mobile industry, after Motorola accused Apple of infringing on two Motorola Mobility patents this past Nov. Could this be Apple's revenge? Regardless, if Apple exercises a ban against Motorola devices, the Android market could be impacted at large.