A German court has ruled in favor of Apple and dealt a crucial blow to Motorola Mobility in the ongoing patent battle between the two. The Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court decided today that Motorola Mobility can no longer enforce its standard-essential patent injunction against Apple in Germany during the ongoing appeal.

On the surface, that doesn’t sound like a very decisive blow. But, at the heart of the matter are patents essential to the standards used by all similar devices known as FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory). Apple has submitted a proposal to license the technology in question under FRAND terms, and the German court has essentially determined that for Motorola to reject the offer would amount to a violation of antitrust regulations.