Microsoft prevails in Xbox patent rift with Motorola Mobility

April 26, 2013

A U.S. judge ruled Thursday that Motorola Mobility is entitled to substantially less royalties than it wanted from Microsoft for the company's use of wireless and video-encoding patents in its Xbox products.The ruling, handed down in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, is significant because it is the first time a judge has determined specific royalty fees for the use of standard-essential patents. Standard-essential patents are those which cover technology used in international standards and ensure various products work together, and their licensing fees are often the source of patent disputes between companies.The ruling also suggests that companies with standard-essential patents may be better off joining a patent pool, or an organization that licenses a group of patents from different companies and collects royalties.Motorola initially sought around $4 billion from Microsoft when the two began negotiating for the licensing of technology incorporated into the 802.11 Wi-Fi and H.264 video-encoding standards. Companies typically attempt to privately negotiate royalty rates before they turn to the courts.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2036431/microsoft-prevails-in-xbox-patent-rift-with-motorola-mobility.html#tk.rss_all