Apple Patent Lawsuit: Apple Finally Has Some Success On the Legal Front

Apple Patent Lawsuit: The legal drama surrounding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been well documented over the past few days.

Yesterday, we brought you two stories revolving around the company’s legal woes:

– Judge Denies Apple Inc. Injunction, No Better Luck for Samsung

– Samsung Backs Off Apple Inc., But Just a Little Bit

This time around, however, the company finally received some good news.

Apple Inc. and Motorola had been locked up in a patent battle involving embedded proximity sensors in mobile handsets. In short, Motorola owned the patent and they felt that Apple was infringing.

As reported by AppleInsider, Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender ruled in Apple’s favor.

In his initial determination, Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender found Motorola’s U.S. Patent No. 6,246,862 for a “Sensor controlled user interface for portable communication device” to be invalid, meaning Apple cannot be held in infringement.

The ‘862 patent covers and infrared proximity sensor that triggers a touchscreen display to shut off when a user’s ear is detected, thus avoiding errant touch events. A similar, yet more advanced, system is used in Apple’s iPhone line of products.

While Apple Inc. is thrilled with the decision, the people at Motorola don’t exactly feel the same way. Company spokesperson Jennifer Erickson told Bloomberg:

We’re disappointed with this outcome and are evaluating our options.

In other words, an appeal is not out of the question.

For more information on U.S. Patent No. 6,246,862, held by Motorola, you can visit this link.

For a company that has been getting beat up in court as of late, Apple Inc. has to be ecstatic with the outcome of this ruling.

Check back here for more updates on Apple Patent Lawsuit.

As you will see in this article – Apple Inc. Loses to Samsung, Motorola in Germany – the company has not always had success in court against Motorola.