Patent lawsuit with Motorola could cost Apple $2.7 billion

Apple has reportedly told a German court that it will owe $2.7 billion if it loses a patent lawsuit against Motorola. The two companies have been locked in a legal battle in which Motorola has accused Apple of infringing on a patent related to email sync technology. As a result, Motorola recently won an injunction against Apple Inc. “In light of this risk, Apple’s lawyers have asked the court to determine that MMI will have to give a 2 billion euro bail (US$2.7 billion based on today’s exchange rate) if it seeks to enforce the patent,” patent expert Florian Miller wrote on his blog, FOSS Patents. “The purpose of such a bail is to ensure that an alleged infringer will be compensated if the enforced injunction is later overturned by an appellate court.” The judge presiding over the case isn’t quite convinced that the battle is worth that much money, however. “I am not yet entirely sure that amount adequately mirrors the commercial value of this dispute… The technology isn’t a standard and there are alternative ways to provide the same services,” the judge said.

Read