As crowds flooded Apple stores to buy the iPhone 5, a German court has dealt a blow to the company's claim that its smartphone rivals, Samsung and Motorola, infringed on its patents.
The Mannheim state court in Germany threw out Apple's infringement claim regarding touch-screen devices, handing Apple a loss about a month after gaining a $1 billion victory against Samsung, according to the Associated Press.
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Apple will be able to appeal the decision within 30 days. But the dismissal follows similar decisions made in the Netherlands and Britain, so it's not clear how successful an appeal would be.
“We welcome today’s ruling, which affirms our position that our products do not infringe Apple’s intellectual property,” Samsung said in a statement, according to Bloomberg. “We will continue to further develop and introduce products that enhance the lives of German consumers."
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