Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. is in good shape in the patent infringement lawsuit it filed against Microsoft Corp. Last April, US International Trade Commission Judge David Shaw ruled that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console violated four of Motorola’s patents and later recommended a ban on the sale of the Xbox console in the United States. However, the six-member commission ordered Shaw to revisit the case after issuing a precedent-setting decision in an unrelated infringement case.
In a single paragraph notice on March 21, Shaw sided with Microsoft after determining the software company’s video game system does not violate the patents of Google Inc.’s Motorola Mobility unit. After originally involving five patents, the case now relates to a single patent for a way to establish communication between the Xbox and accessories over short distances. The judge’s decision is once again subject to review by the full commission, and Google is able to petition the commission to overrule the judge’s decision and impose an import ban.
Bloomberg News reported that Microsoft’s entertainment unit generated $9.6 billion in sales last year, or 13 percent of the company’s revenue. Motorola was a standalone company when it filed the ITC complaint in November 2010. Microsoft had sought to delay Shaw’s first decision until a federal judge in Seattle ruled on a breach of contract lawsuit the software manufacturer filed against Motorola over licensing obligations. Microsoft claimed that Motorola’s demand would result in $4 billion a year in royalties. Reuters reported that a final ITC decision in the case is due in July.
Patent infringement cases can involve extraordinarily complex developments that create many twists and turns for the parties involved, and you can find more information about intellectual property litigation by visiting our website. If you are seeking experienced legal representation for your own patent claim, contact our firm at [number] or fill out the form on this page to have our Los Angeles patent infringement attorney review your case.
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Quick Klein Extra: According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the $1.8 million median damages award in patent cases represented the lowest median in the period between 1995 and 2010. The overall median award during that 16-year period was $5.1 million, with a high of $15.6 million in 1999.