Post by herpanda on May 23, 2012 19:31:47 GMT
www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-23-judge-recommends-us-xbox-360-ban
summary
"A judge has recommended that the Xbox 360 be banned in the US.
Courthouse News reports that Judge David Shaw said the International Trade Commission should use a cease and desist order to ban imports of the Xbox 360 Slim 4GB and 250GB models into the US because, in his view, they infringe on four patents owned by Motorola.
He also wants Microsoft to post a bond equal to seven per cent of the value of unsold Xbox 360s in the US.
Reacting to this latest decision, Microsoft argued the ban would not serve the public interest because it would leave consumers with only two home console options: the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. But the judge rejected the claim, saying it was more important to enforce intellectual property rights. Plus, he wasn't convinced Sony and Nintendo wouldn't be able to meet increased demand.
Microsoft said the suggested seven per cent bond was unnecessary, and recommended it be reduced to 2.5 per cent. Motorola wants it increased to a whopping 100 per cent of the value of the unsold Xbox 360s. "
The article sounded a little one-sided though, and lots of the comments show the other side of the story. Here's one in M$'s defence:
Tybrus said:
"Firstly the patents relate to the h.264 codec(iirc). Motorola along with other companies did indeed research and help develop this codec into a standard. However they wanted it to be a worldwide standard which everyone used. Not a proprietary one. So they submitted it as a FRAND patent. Which means if they want everyone to use it, they can't charge ridiculously unfair amounts of money to licensees. So Microsoft and Motorola had a license in place for years, but when it lapses. Motorola said they wouldn't license it again unless Microsoft would pay exhorbitant fees for every single product that uses it. I believe it amounts to about $4 Billion per year from Microsoft.
Thats an absurb demand. It also violates the principles of FRAND and renders the patent invalid. This is what Microsoft is saying. They are saying they WANT to license it, but they want to pay a reasonable amount. Motorola doesn't care."
It's pretty interesting stuff. I hope all turns out well though.
summary
"A judge has recommended that the Xbox 360 be banned in the US.
Courthouse News reports that Judge David Shaw said the International Trade Commission should use a cease and desist order to ban imports of the Xbox 360 Slim 4GB and 250GB models into the US because, in his view, they infringe on four patents owned by Motorola.
He also wants Microsoft to post a bond equal to seven per cent of the value of unsold Xbox 360s in the US.
Reacting to this latest decision, Microsoft argued the ban would not serve the public interest because it would leave consumers with only two home console options: the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. But the judge rejected the claim, saying it was more important to enforce intellectual property rights. Plus, he wasn't convinced Sony and Nintendo wouldn't be able to meet increased demand.
Microsoft said the suggested seven per cent bond was unnecessary, and recommended it be reduced to 2.5 per cent. Motorola wants it increased to a whopping 100 per cent of the value of the unsold Xbox 360s. "
The article sounded a little one-sided though, and lots of the comments show the other side of the story. Here's one in M$'s defence:
Tybrus said:
"Firstly the patents relate to the h.264 codec(iirc). Motorola along with other companies did indeed research and help develop this codec into a standard. However they wanted it to be a worldwide standard which everyone used. Not a proprietary one. So they submitted it as a FRAND patent. Which means if they want everyone to use it, they can't charge ridiculously unfair amounts of money to licensees. So Microsoft and Motorola had a license in place for years, but when it lapses. Motorola said they wouldn't license it again unless Microsoft would pay exhorbitant fees for every single product that uses it. I believe it amounts to about $4 Billion per year from Microsoft.
Thats an absurb demand. It also violates the principles of FRAND and renders the patent invalid. This is what Microsoft is saying. They are saying they WANT to license it, but they want to pay a reasonable amount. Motorola doesn't care."
It's pretty interesting stuff. I hope all turns out well though.
