Xbox 360 sales to be banned in the US?
A possible ban of Xbox 360 sales in the United States took a step closer yesterday after Microsoft rejected a settlement offer from Motorola. It’s being reported that the settlement offer would have seen Motorola receive 2.25% of each Xbox 360 console sold, as well as 50 Cents per copy of Windows that is sold.
The Google owned company are claiming that Microsoft are infringing on five of their patents, something the software company don’t deny, but believe Motorola are demanding excessive royalties for the patents. A judge has already agreed that Microsoft has infringed on four of the five patents and is due to go to before a commission in August. If the commission agrees with the judge, there is a real possibility Motorola will be able to block imports, and therefore sales, of Microsofts console.
Microsoft have unsurprisingly received backing from Apple, another firm who have been at loggerheads with Google over the last year. And with the patents that Motorola claim are being infringed on including video decoding and wi-fi technology, it’s no surprise Apple want Microsoft to win.
It’s unlikely this will go all the way to court with a settlement being agreed out of court the probable solution, but if the reports are true, it shows Google and Motorola are playing hard ball with the price of their patents.
Source: Gamasutra
