German court throws out lawsuits against Apple

What you need to know:

  • German patent-holding company IPCom had been seeking 1.57 billion euros ($2.0 billion) in damages from Apple for allegedly infringing a patent it holds on mobile technology.

BERLIN, Friday

A German court threw out on Friday two copyright violation lawsuits against US tech giant Apple by German firm IPCom.

"Both suits were rejected. IPCom can now appeal against the verdict," a spokesman for the court in Mannheim told AFP.

German patent-holding company IPCom had been seeking 1.57 billion euros ($2.0 billion) in damages from Apple for allegedly infringing a patent it holds on mobile technology that allows priority access to certain mobile phone calls even when a network is saturated.

IPCom acquired the patent from German engineering company Bosch in 2007.

The European Patent Office recently confirmed that IPCom owned the patent, which had been contested by several firms.

The Mannheim court also threw out a similar lawsuit by IPCom against the Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC.