Back in Feburary 2012, Apple was forced to deactivate automatic push notifications for email, contact, and calendar updates for users accessing the iCloud in Germany due to an injunction Google's Motorola Mobility won against Apple. Specifically, it did not inhibit users from accessing this data, but whether the data was automatically sent to them instead of the users having to manually configure their devices to check how periodically they wanted the updates. According to Florian Mueller's take on the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court hearing, the enforcement on the injuction will most likely end.
The only way Motorola may be able to render this patent, which was already found invalid on multiple reasons in the UK court last year--is by narrowing the claim to what the invention was originally related to: "ensuring the delivery of messages to pagers attached to different garments".
If Google does lose the case, if will eventually have to pay Apple in damages for enforcement of improperly granted injunction. Interestingly, this case is the only injunction any Android based company is enforcing against Apple, anywhere in the world. Though we might say there are an even wins-and-loses on both sides on the Android-Apple war, the only wins Android has scored are "non-defeats, not true wins in terms of offensive achievements That's why licensing-- not litigation -- is the only pragmatic solution for Andriod device makers to address their platform's infringement problems.
It would be great to see one of these cases last under a year and not drown resources from our legal system.
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