Motorola Tries to Ban Xbox in US and Germany. Fails as Expected.

Just in time to buy that new xbox since your 20th one broke.

Awhile back, Motorola tried to ban the sale of Xboxes in the United States and Germany, because if you’re going to do something moronic, you might as well be oddly specific. This was over a patent dispute due to Google believing that the Xbox infringed on Motorola technology patents by not paying what they believed to be fair licensing fees.

Strangely enough, the ban went forth in Germany, effectively ceasing the sales of Xboxes and Windows 7 in the country. Fortunately, Internet Explorer was also banned there. But with the US courts, certainly seeming to have common sense in their pockets, stated that Google’s Motorola unit cannot ban the sales of the Xbox gaming console. The ruling came from one Judge James Robart, who went on to say that since Motorola’s technology is a Frand-type innovation – an invention that has been recognized as being critical to industry standards, and therefore subject to cheaper licensing fees.

Motorola asked Microsoft for $4 billion annually for the right to use the technology, but due to the technology’s Frand brand, it should only be the exceptionally lesser $1 million.

Judge Robart’s ruling also applies to Germany, which means my german friends can now purchase their new xboxes that almost assuredly set on fire in the short amount of time between the ban rulings.

Source: BBC News

Frank Margarella has his own crappy personal blogs here and here. You can follow him on twitter @Fuhjem.