Apple Requesting Potential Motorola Bond of Up to $16 Billion in German Patent Case

Several weeks ago, it was reported that Apple was requesting that Motorola be required to put up a $2.7 billion bond should it prove victorious in a German patent case and decide to enforce that ruling against Apple. Such a bond is common practice in the German court system and would be used to compensate Apple for the time its products were out of the market should Apple win on an appeal of the ruling.

Importantly, no such initial ruling has yet been made against Apple, but FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller stated that last month's proceedings had hinted that the judge in the case was skeptical of Apple's defenses against Motorola's claims of infringement of a data synchronization patent by iCloud.

motorola mobility logo wordmark
FOSS Patents now follows up with a report from a new hearing on the case in which it was revealed that the $2.7 billion bond requested by Apple was actually an annual sum. With a Motorola lawyer suggesting that the trial and subsequent appeals could drag on until 2018, Apple's bond request could amount to a total of $16.2 billion over a potential six-year period beginning in 2012.

At the hearing two weeks ago, the amount appeared to be an all-time total. Today it was clarified that this is an annual figure. But the period of time for which Motorola Mobility might have to post a bond would span far more than one year.

One of Motorola's lawyers mentioned the year 2018 today. Considering that the relevant cases are up for decision in February 2012, we're then talking (hypothetically) about six years, or six times $2.7 billion, or $16.2 billion.

Mueller points out that the potential bond amount would exceed the $12.5 billion price Google has proposed for purchasing all of Motorola Mobility. He goes on to note that it is unclear whether the judge in the case will accept Apple's claim of a $2.7 billion per-year risk should an injunction be enforced, but that Apple's structure of funneling much of its European operations through the Irish subsidiary targeting in the case could indeed lead to substantial risk for the company.

Motorola would of course also have to enforce a decision against Apple for the bond to be required. The company would not be required to do so, and while continued litigation of the matter might suggest that Motorola would seek to enforce a decision, patent lawsuits are frequently conducted in order to put pressure on competitors to reach some sort of settlement prior to a final judgment being rendered.

Popular Stories

Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Friday September 26, 2025 6:57 am PDT by
In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...
iOS 26

Apple Continues to Prepare iOS 26.0.1 With Multiple Bug Fixes Expected

Sunday September 28, 2025 1:30 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The account initially said iOS 26.0.1 would have a build number of 23A350, but they now expect the update to have a build number of 23A355. This suggests that the software update will include more bug fixes or changes than initially...
iphone 17 ceramic shield

Regular iPhone 17's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Friday September 26, 2025 9:01 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the standard iPhone 17 model's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 27W to 28W with these Apple chargers:29W USB-C Power Adapter 30W USB-C Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year

Sunday September 28, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next MacBook Pro models will enter mass production soon, according to the latest information shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said he continues to believe the new MacBook Pro models will be released at some point between late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, meaning they should be available to order by March at the latest. Apple often...

Top Rated Comments

*LTD* Avatar
180 months ago
Microsoft in their worst day was never as disgusting as Apple had been lately (downrate if your a fanboy).
Apple is not a convicted monopoly abuser.

Apple has to actually reach *this* level:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was called "evasive and nonresponsive" by a source present at a session in which Gates was questioned on his deposition.[2] He argued over the definitions of words such as "compete", "concerned", "ask", and "we".[3] BusinessWeek reported, "Early rounds of his deposition show him offering obfuscatory answers and saying 'I don't recall' so many times that even the presiding judge had to chuckle.

Worse, many of the technology chief's denials and pleas of ignorance have been directly refuted by prosecutors with snippets of E-mail Gates both sent and received."[4] Intel Vice-President Steven McGeady, called as a witness, quoted Paul Maritz, a senior Microsoft vice president as having stated an intention to "extinguish" and "smother" rival Netscape Communications Corporation and to "cut off Netscape's air supply" by giving away a clone of Netscape's flagship product for free. The Microsoft executive denied the allegations.[5]

A number of videotapes were submitted as evidence by Microsoft during the trial, including one that demonstrated that removing Internet Explorer from Microsoft Windows caused slowdowns and malfunctions in Windows.

In the videotaped demonstration of what Microsoft vice president James Allchin's stated to be a seamless segment filmed on one PC, the plaintiff noticed that some icons mysteriously disappear and reappear on the PC's desktop, suggesting that the effects might have been falsified.[6] Allchin admitted that the blame for the tape problems lay with some of his staff "They ended up filming it -- grabbing the wrong screen shot," he said of the incident.

Later, Allchin re-ran the demonstration and provided a new videotape, but in so doing Microsoft dropped the claim that Windows is slowed down when Internet Explorer is removed. Mark Murray, a Microsoft spokesperson, berated the government attorneys for "nitpicking on issues like video production."[7] Microsoft submitted a second inaccurate videotape into evidence later the same month as the first. The issue in question was how easy or hard it was for America Online users to download and install Netscape Navigator onto a Windows PC. Microsoft's videotape showed the process as being quick and easy, resulting in the Netscape icon appearing on the user's desktop.

The government produced its own videotape of the same process, revealing that Microsoft's videotape had conveniently removed a long and complex part of the procedure and that the Netscape icon was not placed on the desktop, requiring a user to search for it. Brad Chase, a Microsoft vice president, verified the government's tape and conceded that Microsoft's own tape was falsified.
[8]

Abuse of monopoly, lying (or perjury, provided they were under oath), presenting false evidence in court, etc.

Sorry. Apple is *nothing* like Microsoft. Nothing they've done to date even approaches that.

Microsoft in their worst day was never as disgusting as Apple had been lately (downrate if your a fanboy).
Downrated because you're wrong. Good enough?

----------


Yeah, reputation doesn't exist.

Apple doesnt have a case, they'll lose time, money on their new team of lawyers, etc.
All Apple need is continued consumer mindshare. And these legal activities will have the same effect on sales of Apple gear as they've always had: zero. The last thing the consumer gives a damn about is Apple's legal activities. They just want the next iPad and iPhone. Thats's what the game is about. There are no other considerations involved.

"No, son/dear, you can't have that iPad this Christmas because Apple is being mean in court." LOL if you think this scenario has any basis in reality you need your head checked. The average consumer doesn't think that way, not even remotely, and never will. No matter how much this Apple vs. Samsung business gets reported, it a) won't help Samsung sell a product that no one really wants, and b) won't register with the consumer to any substantial degree.

Get real. This isn't the United States vs. Microsoft. It's some shady Korean appliance-maker (https://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=13394128&postcount=26) vs. Apple.

No one really cares except for the litigants.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
charlituna Avatar
180 months ago
:rolleyes: That is just beyond pathetic of apple.
Not at all. If Motorola wins it could stop sales of the affected Apple products. Generally when an appeal is filed it doesn't lift the sales ban until the case is heard, which could take years of back and forth filings etc.

And what Apple has asked for is within what local law allows and is deemed SOP for such cases.

Now if Motorola wins and they don't demand a sales ban, or if Apple doesn't win the appeals, no money changes hands because Apple was never blocked from selling and making their money that way.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Swift Avatar
180 months ago
Apple is becoming the very thing it fought against in 1984.

Great pity, because their arrogance in recent years is astounding.

Oh, balderdash. They have a business model. There is a body of patent law. They have the patents to defend. Legal contents are a kind of ritual combat, it's true. Google gives its OS for free to anyone, which encourages everyone to copy Apple in such a way that they are coasting on the years of work that Apple did developing a brand-new platform.

This is not "Big Brother," this is good old capitalistic competition in the legal system. If they weren't copying, then they will win and Apple will have delayed them slightly and imposed a cost that the Google gambit freed them from: either writing their own OS or paying for licensing.

All they have to do is create something new.

Maybe the patent and trademark laws need changing, but playing tennis without a net as you seem to propose isn't the answer for protecting innovation.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gasu E. Avatar
180 months ago
:rolleyes: That is just beyond pathetic of apple.

I can see the fanboys are downrating this even though they know it's true.

You don't think an iCloud ban in Germany would cost Apple $2-3B per year in lost business? Do you have an alternate sum in mind?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeathChill Avatar
180 months ago
I'm not really sure why anyone is outraged to be honest. My wife works with lawyers and they want to win so they do everything legally allowable. I'm quite certain no company ever tells their lawyers, "we don't really want to win so don't try too hard."
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacAttraction Avatar
180 months ago
Apple is all wrong ?!!!!???!!

So, when Apple starts a litigation against thoses who may have allegedly infringed on their IP, people scream "Apple is a B!tch.......!!..." and when it is defending itself from others who file a litigation against Apple, people still scream "Apple is a B!tch.......!!.."? So seems like Apple is in a no win situation :confused::)
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)