iPad vs Motorola XOOM court case tossed

A German court has tossed out a case which pitted Apple's iPad against Motorola's first Android tablet, the XOOM, noting that they were not similar enough to warrant moving the case forward. Apple was seeking to ban the sale of the Motorola XOOM throughout the European Union with this case, but all proceedings have been cut pending an appeal by the prosecution. Both companies have 30 days to appeal the verdict to a higher court, but its expected that the case will end here.

The Motorola XOOM was originally released back in February of 2011 without a publicly spoken word by Apple at the time. Since then, it seems, German courts have moved forward to see the case Apple had raised sometime between then and now that sought to call out the tablet computer on its similarities to the iPad. The verdict was processed and read Tuesday that the court in the city of Dusseldorf rejected the request also of Motorola to declare Apple's Community design rights for the iPad invalid.

Apple's claimed Community design rights cover the distinctive appearance of industrial design products of all kinds. Have a peek at the timeline below to see additional court cases surrounding the iPad, most of them dealing with Samsung rather than Motorola. Expect additional court proceedings to go similar to this case around the world, if they do pop up, with Motorola coming out on top.

[via SacBee]