'Slide-to-unlock' patent gets Apple partial win against Motorola in Germany

Folks at Apple can now heave a sigh of relief, as after a brief spell of disappointment; a win, albeit partial has come its way. Bloomberg Businessweek has confirmed that the slide-to-unlock feature, an European patent, which they own has saved the day for them, as it has fetched them partial victory in Germany, against Motorola Mobility. According to the report, Apple has won an injunction at the Munich Regional Court against “all Motorola Mobility mobile phones that use methods for unlocking touch screens”. However, Apple will have to take this news with a pinch of salt, since this victory is only partial. Meaning, Apple, while security victory as far as the slide-to-unlock patent is concerned, its other plea pertaining to the Xoom tablet has been rejected. The Munich Regional Court has cleared that it is not convinced that the Motorola Xoom tablet does not violate on Apple’s patent.

Victory !

Motorola Mobility have on their part, according to this report claimed to have “implemented a new design for the feature,” which should help their sales steer clear of any roadblocks. Those of you following our reports on the Apple-Motorola lawsuit, closely would know that this particular victory has come to Apple, after quite some turmoil. Early this month, both the companies were in the news when a regional court in Germany ordered Apple to stop selling older models of its iPhone and 3G-based iPads at its German online store, after Motorola securing an injunction in the country. However, just days after reports about the Cupertino-based company resuming with the sales began surfacing. 

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