The court in Mannheim, Germany, has tossed out a legal claim that sought to extract 1.57bn euros in damages from Apple. The case was filed by German company IPCom which claimed Apple infringed its patent related to a system that let phones make emergency calls when mobile networks were overloaded.

The same court has also dismissed a similar case brought by IPCom against phone-maker HTC.

Reporting the news, patent lawyer Florian Mueller said the decision by the court in Mannheim, Germany was "without a doubt, a setback for IPCom's enforcement efforts".

IPCom is a patent licensing firm that has acquired the rights to about 1,200 patents that are linked with mobile phones and networks.

IPCom is expected to appeal against the dismissal.