A request to ban the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Xbox has been turned down by U.S. International Trade Commission. The commission came to the conclusion that the gaming device did not violate any patent owned by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Motorola Mobility unit.
Thursday ruling from the ITC was in line with an earlier judgment by an administrative law judge David P. Shaw in March. The initial ruling also asserted that Xbox was in no violation to the patent related to wireless peer-to-peer communications, owned by Motorola.
Comments from Microsoft And Motorola
In an email, Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc (NYSE:MMI)’s spokesman William Moss said “We’re disappointed with this decision and are evaluating our options.”
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s deputy general counsel, David Howard told Reuters “This is a win for Xbox customers and confirms our view that Google had no grounds to block our products.”
Patent in question
The patent involved was earlier in the news, when in 2010; Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc (NYSE:MMI) filed a case in the ITC, alleging the software giant for infringing five of its patents.
Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc (NYSE:MMI) and Microsoft have been fighting over the Xbox patent for past three years, long before Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) acquired Motorola. In the initial lawsuit, Motorola accused Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) of violating patents related to digital video coding, WiFi technology, and graphical passwords.
In January this year, Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc (NYSE:MMI) dropped two patents from the investigations owing to a settlement, earlier that month, between Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over standard-essential patents and other issues. Also, in October last year, Motorola dropped two other patents in dispute.
Section 337
In April last year, Judge Shaw recommended a ban on Xbox devices in US after Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was found unable to establish some FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) license, which comes under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The investigations concerning section 337 relates to intellectual property rights, allegations of patent infringement and trademark infringement by imported goods, and could result in a ban on their imports into the U.S.
U.S. Senators Mike Lee, Amy Klobuchar, Mark Begich and Jim Risch, in a letter sent to ITC earlier this week over the dispute between Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930), recommended that for proper functioning of the standards setting process, companies with committed FRAND license, must resolve their patent disputes through a royalty agreement or a judicial determination of a reasonable rate.
