Android Punches Apple

A German regional court has dismissed Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) allegation that Samsung and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) unit Motorola Mobility infringed on patents used in touch screen devices. The ruling follows similar decisions over Apple’s European-held “touch-event model” patent by courts in Britain and the Netherlands.

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The patent covers how a device’s software recognizes or ignores touch events, which is a basic task while creating a usable multi-touch system. Mannheim Regional Court judge Andreas Voss agreed with Samsung and Motorola that Android does not store a “multi-touch flag” with each user interface window.

“We welcome today’s ruling, which affirms our position that our products do not infringe Apple’s intellectual property,” Samsung said in a statement. “We will continue to further develop and introduce products that enhance the lives of German consumers.”

According to FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller, the court’s ruling applies to two separate suits, one against Samsung and another against Motorola, but was delivered together. Apple can appeal the ruling within 30 days.

Apple and its several Android rivals have been engaged in patent infringement arguments around the world. Last week a court in Munich ruled that Motorola had infringed Apple’s scroll bounce patent that lets a user move documents on the device screen and have them bounce back to the center on release. Last month, Apple famously won a big decision against Samsung in the U.S. when a jury found the Korean company had copied the design and several key features of the iPhone and iPad. Apple was awarded $1.05 billion in damages.

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