Context:
- Ona Patents, a Spanish company backed by Erich Spangenberg’s SIM IP, is suing Apple and Google over geolocation patents in the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and German national court.
- The only plausible explanation for the termination of the Apple litigation is a settlement (September 6, 2025 ip fray article).
- Google decided to see it through, and in the fall it scored a procedural win as the UPC’s Dusseldorf Local Division (LD) threw out Ona Patents’ late presentation of indirect-infringement claims (a 57-page submission) shortly before trial (Section 2.1 of our October 19, 2025 UPC Roundup).
What’s new: Yesterday (January 15, 2026), the Dusseldorf LD handed down its decision (which you can find further below), finding the patent valid but not (directly) infringed under its claim construction. The question was whether there was also a direct infringement if such accessories as earphones, watches or Fitbit trackers were involved.
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Court and counsel
Panel: Presiding Judge Ronny Thomas, Judge-rapporteur Dr. Bérénice Thom, Judge Margot Kokke (The Hague, Netherlands), and Technically Qualified Judge Gérard Myon.
Counsel for Ona Patents (infringement claimant and counterclaim-defendant, successful in the latter role): Kather Augenstein’s Dr. Christof Augenstein (November 13, 2025 ip fray podcast), Dr. Benedikt Walesch, and Dr. Melissa Lutz; and Bubendorfer IP patent attorney Benjamin Bubendorfer.
Counsel for successful infringement defendant Google: Quinn Emanuel’s Dr. Marcus Grosch, Dr. Jesko Preuss (“PreuĂ” in German), and Dr. Andreas Hahne.