A possible ban on the sales of Xbox 360 game consoles and Windows 7 PCs in Germany, thanks to an ongoing patent dispute between Motorola Mobility and Microsoft, has now been nullified. A federal judge in the case ruled late on Friday in Microsoft"s favor, which should allow people who wanted to buy both products to continue to do so.
The Seattle Times reports that US District Judge James Robart granted Microsoft"s motion to refuse Motorola"s request of injunctive relief. Basically, this means that Motorola can"t ask for a ban of these two Microsoft products anywhere in the world. Earlier this year, a German court ruled that Motorola could in fact ask for such a sales ban.
This is just the latest chapter in the long and winding court drama that began in 2010, when Microsoft first filed a lawsuit against Motorola, long before Motorola was acquired by Google. Microsoft claimed that Motorola was not offering its essential patents for 802.11 wireless and H.264 video standards under "fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms", otherwise known as FRAND.
In November, Judge Robart heard arguments from both sides in a Seattle courtroom in this legal battle. That trial concluded later in the month and Judge Robert is expected to make a final decision on this issue sometime in the spring of 2013.
Source: Seattle Times
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