Earlier this morning, we told you about an injunction banning Apple from selling many of their 3G-capable devices online. That injunction has now been suspended due to Motorola’s refusal to fairly license involved patents to Apple.
Apple has released a statement confirming that the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and 3G iPad 2 would be returning “in a matter of hours. AllThingsD reports:
All iPad and iPhone models will be back on sale through Apple’s online store in Germany shortly,” an Apple spokesperson told AllThingsD. “Apple appealed this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago.
Motorola has repeatedly refused to license the patent to Apple under the terms of FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory), despite the fact that the patent in question has been determined as an industry standard required for operation of certain wireless technologies.
Motorola is playing a pretty dangerous game here, and now that their refusal to license FRAND patents has caught the attention of a German judge, the stakes are even higher. Samsung is already being investigated for antitrust for similar behavior. Motorola could be setting themselves up for a similar inquiry.