Xbox 360 banned in Germany?

The latest turn of events in a legal dispute between Motorola and Microsoft has ended up with Microsoft being handed an injunction against banning the distribution of Microsoft products in Germany.

Its one of the highest profile patent victories to date, the court found in favour of Motorola with a number of key Microsoft products being banned in Germany as a result, including the Xbox 360, Windows, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player, the German court sided with Motorola over the matter of two patents that are integral to offering H.264 video playback and coding.

Motorola is unable to enforce the ruling until a Seattle based court lifts a restraining order around the case next week.

With around 50 patents at dispute between the two companies, its safe to say the war is far from over.

“This is one step in a long process, and we are confident that Motorola will eventually be held to its promise to make its standard essential patents available on fair and reasonable terms for the benefit of consumers who enjoy video on the web,” an official Microsoft spokesman said.

“Motorola is prohibited from acting on today’s decision, and our business in Germany will continue as usual while we appeal this decision and pursue the fundamental issue of Motorola’s broken promise.”

Source: BBC