Apple Faces $2 Billion Lawsuit in Germany

Next week, Apple will have to defend itself in yet another patent lawsuit: this time, in Germany.

In the lawsuit, German patent licensing company IPCom claims that the Cupertino, California-based company infringed on a mobile patent that it owns. IPCom is seeking over $2 billion in damages, plus interest. The patent in questing covers "how access from mobile phones can be controlled in congested wireless channels," according to a statement from a regional court in Mannheim, where the lawsuit was filed. Apple, along with a several other mobile players including HTC and Nokia, has already challenged the patent in the European Patent Office. The office upheld the patent, but in a narrower form last month.

IPCom believes that the technology is essential to 3G standard and that any company that uses the technology ought to be subject to licensing agreements. The firm is also suing for infringement based on a Germany-specific telecommunications patent. IPCom has yet to determine a value for damages in the Germany-specific suit. The firm has been waging a patent war based on a portfolio of over 1,000 patents that it acquired in 2007 from Robert Bosch, a German electronics company that manufactured mobile phones in the late 1990s. IPCom has had varying success with its suits in the past across the globe. Last July, the company reportedly received a "low-to-medium triple-digit million euro" settlement from Deutsche Telekom, according to Reuters. IPCom had a number of open patent infringement court cases with Deutsche Telekom at the time of the settlement.

Photo credit: Rob-Wei via Flickr