The U.S. International Trade Commission has ruled that
Microsoft infringed on patents of Motorola Mobility in
its Xbox games console.
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) David P. Shaw
ruled that Microsoft infringed
four patents of Motorola Mobility, though he sided with
Microsoft on a fifth.
According to the initial determination, Motorola's
intellectual property was usurped in Xbox software for
tasks such as efficiently moving video files or
connecting wirelessly to the Internet. The patents in
the complaint are in the area of video encoding and
decoding, security, and communications technologies, and
include U.S. patent numbers 5,319,712; 5,357,571;
6,069,896; 6,980,596; and 7,162,094.
An ITC ruling against Microsoft would force the company
to enter into a licensing deal with Motorola.
A final ruling is expected later this year.