Wow, talk about your sore losers… Right after Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) CEO Arun Sarin spat the dummy over not getting the iPhone contract saying “it’s a pretty poor experience” Vodafone Germany has sought a provisional order against T-Mobile selling the iPhone exclusively and linked to a two-year contract, reports Volker Hirsch on his blog.

He’s citing this Tagesschau story, which is in German. Vodafone is apparently claiming that the exclusive nature of the deal is like an original sin which might tempt Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to follow suit, changing the industry substantially. This seems a bit disingenuous, since it is quite common for carriers to offer handsets in a market exclusively—Hirsch notes that Vodafone Germany offers Sharp phones exclusively. Vodafone may be more concerned that other handset manufacturers may try to get the same revenue-sharing deal as Apple, (NSDQ: AAPL) but I don’t think that’s a case for the courts.

- Robert adds: It may seem crazy, but - as FT.com points out - French law already has a similar provision. There, it’s illegal to lock handsets to one network - consequent delays have pegged the iPhone’s launch back to November 29. Interesting to note Vodafone is trying here under national law, not European, which often affords greater such protections.

- In Spain: Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) will release a 3G version of the iPhone in May, a “main manager” at the network apparently told Spanish mobile phone software firm SevenClick (via the Register). An agreement has yet to be hammered out between Apple and the Spanish network, which is balking at the 30 percent revenue share that Cupertino is demanding. Telefonica had wanted to launch the iPhone before, but Apple’s distribution plans for Europe put the UK, Germany and France ahead of Spain—by which time, they had run out of handsets. 

• Vodafone’s Sarin: iPhone ‘A Pretty Poor Experience’, No Triple-Play