The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Monday issued a preliminary ruling that Microsoft Corp. (IW 500/16) infringed on Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (IW 1000/344) patents in its hit Xbox 360 videogame consoles.
Administrative law judge David Shaw backed four out of five Motorola claims that the company's intellectual property was usurped in Xbox software for tasks such as efficiently moving video files or connecting wirelessly to the Internet.
"Today's recommendation by the administrative law judge is the first step in the process leading to the Commission's final ruling," Microsoft said in an email response to an AFP inquiry."We remain confident the Commission will ultimately rule in Microsoft's favor in this case and that Motorola will be held to its promise to make its standard essential patents available on fair and reasonable terms."
A final ruling from the quasi-judicial federal agency is expected later this year.
An ITC ruling against Microsoft would force the Redmond, Wash.-based company to work out a licensing deal with Motorola or risk having its top-selling videogame console banned from U.S. stores.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012
See also:
Microsoft Delivers Record Q3 Revenue Despite Softened Demand for Xbox 360
European Union Probes Motorola in Patent War with Apple and Microsoft
Facebook to Pay Microsoft $550 Million for Patents
