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According to FOSS Patent’s report ^[2], a pending legal case in Germany could have a profound effect on Apple with a possible injunction barring the iCloud service in this country over violation of Motorola Mobility patent.

Last year Motorola claimed that Apple’s MobileMe service violates its patent related to synchronization of data. Motorola changed the suit to add iCloud once this service was launched later this year. Although the court will make the official ruling on this case in February, the initial default judgment was already formed and FOSS Patents notes that the presiding judge doesn’t have a terribly favorably attitude to Apple’s defense thus far.

«The court doesn't appear to buy any of Apple's defenses at this stage. It may still change mind until the ruling, which is scheduled for February 3, 2012, 9 AM local time, but if it had had to rule today, I have no doubt that Apple would have lost».

If Motorola wins this court case and an injunction is issued, Apple will be forced to shut down all its services in Germany that include iCloud integration. In German, it is typical for winning parties to post bonds to guarantee repayment of lost profits in case the defendant wins an appeal of the court’s decision, and Apple wants Motorola to post $2.7 billion bond in this case.

The judge noted that Apple could develop a workaround for iCloud that would not infringe the Motorola patent, but Apple's lawyers insisted that this would pose a severe risk to Apple’s business.

Apple of course has a vested interest in raising the bail as high as possible, making Motorola to put up a large amount of money if it wants to pursue an injunction. However while Apple might be inflating its risk in some degree, the company still have to justify this amount to the court.