Following HTC and Motorola's devices being banned from going on sale in the U.S., Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console is now under threat of also being banned from the United States. A judge said Microsoft's console infringed on Motorola patents.
The ban recommendation covers the 4GB and 250GB versions of the Xbox 360 S console, a smaller redesign of the Xbox 360 announced June 14, 2010 at a press briefing before 2010's E3 show.
"Judge David Shaw also recommended that the commission prevent sale of the consoles with a cease-and-desist order, and that Microsoft post a bond equal to 7 percent of the declared value of the unsold Xbox inventory already in the country," Courthouse News reported yesterday, May 22.
Judge Shaw also said in April 2012 that Microsoft infringed on four Motorola patents covering "secure wireless communication" and transmitting video content between "controller devices and games consoles."
Motorola filed a complaint against Microsoft with the International Trade Commission - it can stop devices from being sold in the U.S. - in November 2010, saying the Xbox uses Motorola's own technology that allows set-top boxes to transcode transmissions between its Droid 2 and Droid X smartphones.
"Microsoft argued that Shaw's exclusion order does not serve the public interest because it would leave consumers of video games with only two options to satisfy their needs: the Sony PlayStation [3] and the Nintendo Wii," Courthouse News added. Nintendo is launching the successor to the Wii, the Wii U, sometime in 2012.
Judge Shaw rejected Microsoft's argument; he said the public interest is "forcing" intellectual property rights rather than considering sales of the console, and the impact on consumers. He added Microsoft didn't explain how the other console manufacturers couldn't meet public demand.
Motorola and Microsoft also couldn't agree on the value of the bond, which Microsoft called "unnecessary." Motorola said the bond should be 100 percent of the value of the unsold Xbox 360 inventory.
Microsoft also said Motorola didn't explain how the Xbox's sales were in place of Droid devices or set-top box converters. The company disagreed with the valuation of the bond by Motorola, putting it around 2.5 percent of the wholesale value of the console and added a bond should be equal to value of a "reasonable license" for the technology.
The Xbox was re-available in Germany from May 15, 2012, after being banned from going on sale due to the licensing of wireless technology.
