The BBC reports that Apple’s ‘slide to unlock’ feature was deemed an ‘obvious’ development of an earlier function from a Swedish handset by the judge.

Countersuit

The case stems from a lawsuit launched by HTC a year ago that sought to invalidate European patents Apple had referred to in a German court case. Apple then decided to countersue.
In a statement, HTC said it was ‘pleased with the ruling, which provides further confirmation that Apple's claims against HTC are without merit. We remain disappointed that Apple continues to favour competition in the courtroom over competition in the marketplace’.
Apple declined to comment on the specifics of the case, instead re-issuing an earlier statement, saying: ‘We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.’

HTC declined to comment on Apple's statement.