A court over in Germany has ordered Motorola to stop selling some of their handsets in Germany following a dispute over the antenna design. The Moto G and Moto X, along with other handsets are said to infringe on a patent owned by LPKF, the German engineering firm, this is called “Laser Direct Structuring”.
“On July 8, 2014, the Mannheim Regional Court ordered Motorola Deutschland and Motorola Mobility USA to refrain from selling cell phones in Germany that infringe the patent and ordered Motorola Deutschland to recall all cell phones that infringe the patent from commercial customers,” LPKF said in a statement today.
Motorola will also have to pay out compensation to LPKF the court said.
Laser Direct Structuring is apparently a rather popular process when it comes to making complex antennas for tablets and phones and LPKF patented it in China in 2013. The CEO said that LPKF have been working hard to fight the infringement in and outside of China.
The sales ban of the Motorola handsets in Germany is thought to be significant as it would have an effect on the two most popular and recent handsets. These are the Moto X and the Moto G. The German arm of Motorola has now got to recall all of the handsets that are said to infringe on the patent.
No doubt Motorola is going to appeal the ruling but it is looking as though Motorola devices in Germany will be very hard to find.
