Yes, admittedly the title sounds a bit strange. But it's true. Today the Munich Regional Court officially banned the applications Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. But the ruling is not yet legally binding. Everything on the subject can be found below.
The social media services Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp are facing an official ban in Germany today. The reason for this is said to be various patent infringements. The Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that the Munich Regional Court has officially banned the "offering and placing on the market" of the above-mentioned applications in a ruling. However, the ruling is not yet legally binding, so there is no reason to worry. The Facebook Group will most likely appeal to the Higher Regional Court.
What happened?
Blackberry has sued Facebook for several patent infringements in the Munich Regional Court and has achieved a partial victory. The social media giant is said to have infringed a total of four patents. The ruling is provisionally enforceable - but Blackberry would be taking a high risk. If Facebook were to win in the final instance, Blackberry would have to pay high damages. It is doubtful whether the company would take this risk. Although Facebook is questioning the validity of these four patents, the company is nevertheless prepared to adapt the four applications. As has now become known, Facebook's "friend suggestions" feature, among other things, is said to infringe one of the Blackberry patents. The Canadians also say that the possibility of sending a chat history from WhatsApp via email is based on their idea. As already mentioned above, users of these services should not fear anything for the time being. It can be assumed that Facebook will appeal and implement its suggestion to adapt all four apps - the ruling is nevertheless interesting. (Photo by bigtunaonline / Bigstockphoto)
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