Motorola fails in attempted Xbox 360 ban

A US judge has thrown out Motorola’s attempt to ban the Xbox 360 over an alleged patent dispute.

The BBC reports that Motorola was attempting to claim $4bn a year due to an alleged breach of its connectivity and video-coding patents.

The judge argued that the patents have been recognised as being critical to industry standards and should be therefore be licensed on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms”.

The ruling is also applicable in Germany.

Microsoft is likely to still face a fine, however, although it is more likely to be in the region of $1m a year. That will be decided as the case progresses.

The legal tussle between the pair saw the Xbox 360 console blocked from distribution in Germany back in May.

Judge David Shaw of the International Trade Commission recommended at the time that the machine should no longer be imported into the US and all sales of unsold stock to be blocked.

Microsoft then argued that such a move would be unfair as it would limit the options available to the consumer, though Shaw argued that Sony and Nintendo could handle any extra demand.