Apple Wins Slide-To-Unlock Patent Battle Over Motorola

A patent granted to Apple in 2010 has been ruled valid, but Motorola’s claim is that it shouldn’t affect any of its Android phones.

Another day, another Apple patent dispute; in this case it’s a patent case in Munich, Germany, where Apple’s had a victory over Motorola Mobility in a patent dispute. The specific patent is EP1964022, which relates to the process of unlocking smartphones by swiping a finger from one part of the screen to another.

A BBC report on the case quotes an unnamed Motorola spokesperson as saying that

“Today’s ruling in the patent litigation brought by Apple in Munich, Germany, concerns a software feature related to phone unlocking in select Motorola devices sold in Germany. Motorola has implemented a new design for the feature. Therefore, we expect no impact on current supply or future sales.”

There’s also a second patent in dispute in the case, relating to swiping for photo gallery selection, but that’s yet to be ruled on. [BBC]


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