iCloud and MobileMe push email will remain disabled in Germany during Apple’s appeal

According to the FOSS Patents blog, a German appeals court has denied Apple’s bid to suspend an injunction imposed on iCloud and MobilMe push notification services in Germany. The Mannheim Regional Court ruled last month that certain Apple email services were infringing a Motorola patent (EP0847654), and Motorola began enforcing the injunction just a few weeks later.

Apple appealed the lower court ruling and had requested that the appeals court lift the injunction until a final decision is reached. Apple’s appeal is primarily challenging the validity of Motorola’s patent. It’s worth noting that the appeals court’s denial of Apple’s request is not a substantive ruling on the merits of its case — it just means that the injunction will remain in place until the process is complete, which could be a year or more away. In the meantime, Apple has advised German users that they can still manually update their inboxes, or set their iOS devices to check for email periodically.