After two recent patent-related victories over Apple in Germany, Motorola was dealt a setback today when a Manheim court threw out one of its claims regarding 3G/UMTS wireless technology.
As noted by patent blogger Florian Mueller, the Mannheim Regional Court said Motorola "failed to present conclusive evidence for its infringement contention."
In its suit, Motorola said that any implementation of 3G/UMTS will inevitably infringe on its patent rather than bringing forth any Apple products that actually do so.
"Since the asserted patent claim is centered around the 'means' used to generate a number that optimizes wireless transmissions, the court would have wanted to see proof that Apple's products contain such 'means,'" Mueller wrote. "But [Motorola] didn't show any kind of actual implementation (neither hardware nor software), and arguing merely on the basis of the specifications of the standard was insufficient to win."
Today's ruling comes after two wins for Motorola. In December, a Manheim judge found that certain Apple products infringe on Motorola patents for data packet transfer technology (GPRS). That prompted the temporary removal of several Apple products from its German online story earlier this month.
Also this month, meanwhile, the Manheim court granted a permanent injunction against Apple's iCloud push email notifications.
As a result, Mueller argued, Motorola and its legal team probably think that "two out of three ain't bad."
Motorola is demanding that Apple pay 2.25 percent of the net selling price of its 3G/UMTS products as a royalty, Mueller said. Not surprisingly, Apple is not in agreement.
Motorola Mobility, meanwhile, is in the process of being acquired by Google. The EU is set to rule on the merger by Feb. 13, and recent reports suggest that the Department of Justice in the U.S. could approve the deal as early as next week. For more, see Google Acquires Motorola Mobility: What You Need to Know.
Motorola's new Droid 4 hits stores today; for more, see PCMag's full review and the slideshow below.