US Court puts Xbox 360 Germany ban on hold

A US appeals court has rejected Motorola Mobility’s patent injunction against Microsoft that could have resulted in a sales ban for the Xbox 360 in Germany.

As reported by Reuters, the injunction could have prevented the console giant from “offering, marketing, using or importing or possessing” some of its products in Germany.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco however has rejected that possibility, putting the ban on hold until it could be unanimously proven Microsoft had infringed Motorola’s patents.

The court also ruled that it was able to put the injunction on hold as Microsoft had already been involved in a lawsuit with Motorola for breach of contract in the US.

The legal dispute centres on Motorola’s patented technology ActiveSync, used by Microsoft in devices such as the Xbox 360 slim, Windows 7 and Internet Explorer.

The mobile firm had asked for a 2.25 per cent royalty on Xbox 360 sales, which Microsoft claimed was too much as the patents were “standard, essential parts of its software”.