Apple says it could lose $2.7B if Motorola wins iCloud case

Motorola has inched closer to winning a German court battle against Apple centering on iCloud and MobileMe — and Apple says it could lose up to $2.7 billion in sales if Motorola wins, Bloomberg reports.

Unlike Apple’s many Android-related legal battles, this time around it’s the target. The news comes after a U.S. judge ruled in October that Apple needs to prove its design patents valid in a case against Samsung.

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On April 1, 2011 (cheeky timing) Motorola filed a complaint against Apple regarding its implementation of mail synchronization on iCloud and MobileMe. Today during a hearing in a Mannheim, Germany court, Apple lawyers said that if Motorola manages to land an injunction against its products, it could lose 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in sales.

As is the legal process in Germany, Motorola would be expected to put up that amount in bail in case, as Bloomberg explains:

German courts often require the winning side to post collateral if it wants to enforce a ruling while the loser appeals. The amount reflects the losses the party may suffer when forced to comply with the ruling. If it wins the appeal, it can seek damages and can make use of the collateral.

The presiding German judge didn’t buy Apple’s arguments about the sales loss: “I am not yet entirely sure that amount adequately mirrors the commercial value of this dispute,” judge Andreas Voss said. “The technology isn’t a standard and there are alternative ways to provide the same services.”

Meanwhile, Motorola Mobility shareholders finalized their decision today to move forward with Google’s $12.5 billion purchase of the company. Somehow, I don’t think that will work out too well for Apple.