U.S. Judge rules Xbox does not violate Motorola's patents

Although it looked like Motorola Mobility's lawsuit against Microsoft over alleged patent infringements would end badly for the Xbox company, the tides have now turned and a judge has cleared Microsoft of any infringement. U.S. International Trade Commission Judge David Shaw ruled last year that Microsoft's Xbox 360 console had infringed on four of Motorola's patents, including video decoding and wi-fi technology from the company. The judge even went as far as to recommend a ban on the sale of the Xbox 360 S console in the U.S. However, a full commission board asked Shaw to revisit the case. Meanwhile Motorola Mobility parent Google dropped most of the claims after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Now Shaw has ruled in favor of Microsoft over the final claim, reports Bloomberg, stating in a brief filing [PDF] that a violation has not occurred in the way that the Xbox console communicates with its accessories. As with the first time around, a commission board will now review Shaw's findings to determine whether any follow-up action is required. David Howard, Microsoft's corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement, "We are pleased with the Administrative Law Judge's finding that Microsoft did not violate Motorola's patent and are confident that this determination will be affirmed by the Commission." A spokesperson for Google said that the company is disappointed with the ruling, and is eagerly awaiting the review of the full commission.