Microsoft patent lawsuit could ban Google Maps in Germany

A post put up by FOSS Patents’ Mueller claims Google and Motorola are on the verge of losing a Microsoft led patent lawsuit that could cause a lot of issues in the country. If Google loses this lawsuit, Google Maps could very well be banned in Germany due to a patent Microsoft describes as a “computer system for identifying local resources and method therefor”, which Google is allegedly infringing.

Reports confirm that after much discussion, Google hasn’t been able to convince the courts that it is not infringing on Microsoft‘s patent. The Judge ended the most recent meeting saying “He’s inclined to hold Google liable for the infringement”. While it all sounds bad right now, Germany will more than likely get to keep Google Maps in its region.

Google Maps will more than likely not be leaving Germany

Google Maps is a very widely used service, and Bing Maps or any other mapping service simply can’t compare to the quality that Google has in its Maps service. While Microsoft may win the lawsuit, it’s doubtful that we’ll be seeing Google Maps leave the German region. The worse thing that could happen is that Microsoft will offer to license its patent to Google.

If Microsoft does win the lawsuit and Google is forced to remove its Maps presence from Germany, Google will have a lot of work on its hands. The search giant would have to remove Maps from every platform. Google Maps would have to be removed from the Google Play Store for the region. Google would also have to disable features for Maps in its Chrome browser on the web and mobile.

In other words, Google would have to remove Maps from everything. The worse of it all? The people of Germany would be stuck with Bing Maps and Microsoft would have little to no competition.

A decision on the lawsuit will be made Friday.