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A Frankfurt court has ruled against the personal taxi app Uber, effectively banning its use throughout Germany -- but the firm has no intention to stop operating.

The case was brought to the Frankfurt Regional Court by Taxi Deutschland after Uber was found not to have the correct legal permits to operate in Berlin last week. The court issued a temporary injunction on drivers using the Uber and UberPop apps to secure fares as they did not have commercial licenses required by national laws.


In Germany, a driver operating without a commercial licence can charge a fare no more than the operating cost of the trip -- that is the cost of petrol used, much lower than Uber's minimum rates.

As a result, the use of the service could be deemed illegal across the country. But a spokesperson for the San Francisco company told the BBC that it has no intention of suspending services in one of their fastest growing markets in Europe. "We will continue to operate in Germany and will appeal the recent lawsuit filed by Taxi Deutschland in Frankfurt," he said. "You cannot put the brakes on progress. Uber will continue its operations and will offer UberPop ridesharing services via its app throughout Germany."

The suit, intended by Taxi Deutschland to curb the competition their drivers are facing from Uber operators, is a common blight on Uber's plans by now. Similar action was consideredby Transport for London in June this year, but the decision was made not to pursue the case as it would likely fail. Perhaps seeing the successes of their German cousins will cause them to reconsider.

Uber was recently valued at $17 billion after a round of funding.