FOSS Patents:

This morning, Apple’s second slide-to-unlock case was stayed for the duration of a parallel proceeding before the Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (German Patent and Trademark Office) that could lead to the revocation, in whole or in part, of Apple’s slide-to-unlock utility model. Judge Andreas Voss said that the court was unconvinced of the validity of that intellectual property right in all respects, with particular concern about the broadest group of claims.

It’s a setback for Apple, which had sought to prevent other phone makers from using the familiar “slide to unlock” UI mechanism.