Motorola's Xoom does not look like the iPad, rules German court

Motorola Mobility has achieved a breakthrough of sorts, in its ongoing patent battle against Cupertino-based, Apple Inc. A German court in its latest ruling has affirmed that Motorola Mobility's Xoom tablet does not infringe on the design of Apple's iPad, as per a report by Dow Jones Newswires. However, the German court in the same session also rejected the Xoom tablet maker's counterclaims, in which it stated that the design patent of the iPad being invalid.

Court rules that the Xoom tablet does not look like the iPad

In August, last year, reports about Apple suing Motorola Mobility on the grounds that the Xoom tablet bore resemblance to the iPad had surfaced. Soon, Motorola Mobility managed to secure for itself a preliminary injunction against Apple, following which the latter's run in Germany, appeared bleak. This preliminary injunction has been decided upon by the Mannheim Regional Court, Germany.  The battle has been ensuing since, and the latest ruling is certainly a biggie in Motorola's kitty. The report further added that, "During two hearings prior to the ruling, the presiding judge had indicated the court was leaning in Motorola's favor. Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann said in March that the court considered the evenly bent back and shaped edges on the front of the Xoom tablet sufficient to give the product individual character."

So, as the German court ended up rejecting claims from both sides, it ordered Apple to pay two-thirds of the cost and Motorola to pay a third, adds the report.

Design patent infringments aren't the only instances of the patent tussle between Apple and Motorola Mobility. In April, this year, a ruling delivered by Judge Andreas Voss at the Mannheim Regional Court, Germany granted Motorola Mobility success over rival Apple, thereby effectively implementing a ban on the latter's iCloud and MobileMe services in the country. An earlier ruling in this respect had ended with the court being convinced that Apple had been using a patented technology, which automatically informs Apple customers about their new messages on their iPhones, iPods or iPads, and that it owes Motorola Mobility for that. Further in a statement delivered by a court spokesperson, it had been revealed that Apple still cannot use the push feature when in Germany and is liable to pay damages. The court, further asked Apple to provide them with information, so as to aid them in calculating the damages that were to be paid.

Apple, at the moment is also battling against Samsung Electronics, in yet another round of patent infringment claims. One time friends now rivals, Apple and Samsung, have been at loggerheads over a host of unresolved patent claims. The latest to have come in this respect has been Samsung's victory against Apple, following a ruling which stated that Samsung's Galaxy tablets did not infringe the U.S. company's designs for the iPad because they were "not as cool".