Apple loses 'slide to unlock' patent to Lenovo at Germany's top civil court

Motorola's legacy takes a bite out of the forbidden fruit

Apple has lost another patent in one of its many long-running legal battles against other technology firms, this time seeing the top civil court in Germany rule in favour of Lenovo over ownership (or otherwise) of the "slide to unlock" patent.

Lenovo, which now owns Motorola Mobility Holdings, had previously been joined by Samsung in fighting the case, but it later withdrew from proceedings.

"This user-friendly display was already suggested by the state of the art," the court wrote in a summary statement. "The contested patent thus isn't based on an invention."

This suggests the feature was not patentable, and other manufacturers may now be free to use it, as far as the German courts are concerned. The statement was partly confirmed by a phone released by Swedish company Neonode, a full year before the 2007 launch of Apple's iPhone.

The verdict flies in the face of a similar case in Munich in 2012, when Apple beat Motorola Mobility on the same patent disagreement. That particular case is still pending on appeal, and may depend on the outcome of this latest suit.

Apple has been fighting patent battles in various global territories for several years. In 2014, Apple and Google decided to put their differences aside and attempt to reform some areas of US patent law. However, many cases with the Cupertino firm's other major rival - Samsung - continue.

Apple has not yet commented on its loss of this suit.