Motorola injunction could block Microsoft products in Germany

By Rich Edmonds
last updated

Motorola has been granted an injunction on Microsoft products being sold in Germany. The Xbox 360, Windows OS, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player will all fall under the ban, should it be put into place. The injunction follows a ruling claiming the software giant had infringed two Motorola patents required to support H.264 video coding and playback.

An official statement from Motorola reads the following:

"We are pleased that the Mannheim Court found that Microsoft products infringe Motorola Mobility's intellectual property. As a path forward, we remain open to resolving this matter. Fair compensation is all that we have been seeking for our intellectual property."

According to reports, this is just one of several cases involving around 50 properties owned by the smartphone manufacturer. Microsoft has stated that should the software giant meet the demands of Motorola an annual bill would be in the region of $4bn (£2.5bn). The manufacturer has denied this claim.

A statement from Microsoft has been published, which highlights how the company will look to appeal the decision.

"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. 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."

Motorola cannot enforce the ruling made by the German courts until a Seattle-based judge lifts a restraining order. This restriction was put in place by Microsoft after it claimed Motorola was actively abusing its Frand-committments (pact to license innovations required for widely used technologies under "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" terms). A hearing is to be held on May 7th.

Source: BBC

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds is Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

15 Comments
  • This is fud. Do something Microsoft!
  • The Seattle restraining order doesn't affect Motorola Germany at all.
  • (Copying exactly what i wrote on neowin)
     
    This Injunction only gives Motorola the power to enforce the sales ban in Germany, it doesn't automatically block sales of Microsofts products in Germany. Because Motorola is an American company (and have to play by american rules), the US courts have stopped Motorola from enforcing the ban.
    Very smart move from Microsoft, delaying this injunction until the EU investigation is complete. Germany is very well known for always siding with the patent owner, hence why Motorola (and most other companies) sued there.
  • I'm in America so it isn't effecting me :P
  • Fix the patent system NOW.
  • There is gonna be a lot of pissed off Germans if they can't get there Xbox on. But I doubt this will happen.
  • Motorola = Google (= LagDroid).
    They cannot stop anything here in Europe!!
  • this is bullshit
  • Fair compensation? Aren't these the patents they wanted $22.50 for, while Microsoft and others only wants like a couple of cents?
  • MS wants to pay about 3-5 cents per USER while Motorola wants closer to $5 per user. MS has a point. H.264 is available to so many other companies and used in so many other products at reasonable licensing costs per user so why should MS be singled out and forced to pay 100 times more per user just so that you can watch H.264 video on Windows, Xbox and windows phone. MS should pull H.264 support and just allow plugin support for the codec and let everyone know that Motorola wants to gouge us in tv commercials and newspaper articles. Then, they should reinvent Silverlight as an advanced video codec in windows 8.
  • This will never happen, it will come to some agreement and if Microsoft is claimed guilty, they will just have to pay up, out of their deep profits.
  • I think that they will settle unless MS feels confident they can win. Motorola Mobility makes androids and androids, from what I read with manufacturer royalties, use a little bit of MS patents.
  • funny, when MS sues over patents, you fanboys cheer, when Nokia just said they would sue, you fanboys cheer, but when they lose a desicion, oh my, how wrong, they shouldn't pay, it should be free, blah, blah, blah. Maybe now you will see how all of this is out of wack, and the system has to be changed on how patents are issued, enforced, and how guidelines should be set on how much a company should pay for them. MS will be paying for this patent, and it won't be in cents either.
  • "Microsoft WAS paying for them at the fair price in 2010 Motorola began demanding a huge increase in that price. After a lot of negotiating that has gone nowhere the two companies have filed lawsuits against each other. There never has been a question about IF Microsoft's products are in violation of the patents. The question is whether Motorola is aloud to charge Microsoft a rate of 2.25% of the entire product for them, which is a lot higher than the other licensees. If Motorola gets their way it is only going to cost us consumers more, remember Microsoft also owns several patents essential to H.264(plus like 25 more companies), and could pull this same stunt right back at Motorola if it is deemed legal. Most likely it will result in the death of H.264 as a widely used protocol due to increased licensing cost."
    http://news.cnet.com/8618-10805_3-57425838.html?assetTypeId=12&messageId=12303407&tag=mncol;tback
  • The plot is really thicker than this (and Microsoft is not the only company Motorola is having issues with - Apple is involved in other disputes similar to this):
    http://www.fosspatents.com/2012/03/these-two-charts-show-that-motorolas.html
    http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-04/03/eu-motorola-antitrust-investigation