UPDATE 2-German court rules against Microsoft in Motorola patent fight

May 02, 2012|Reuters

* German court backs plaintiff Motorola

* Decision has no immediate effect due to U.S. ruling

* EU investigating Motorola's patent enforcement

(Adds further details on court ruling)

By Harro Ten Wolde

MANNHEIM, Germany, May 2 (Reuters) - A court in Mannheim
ruled on Wednesday that Microsoft infringed Motorola
Mobility's patents and ordered Microsoft to remove its
popular Xbox 360 gaming consoles and Windows 7 operating system
software from the German market.

However, Microsoft said that the ruling did not mean that
its products would be taken off retailers' shelves because a
U.S. district court in Seattle has granted Microsoft a
preliminary injunction against Motorola to prevent the phone
maker from enforcing any German court order.

"Motorola is prohibited from acting on today's decision, and
our business in Germany will continue as usual while we appeal
this decision and pursue the fundamental issue of Motorola's

The Mannheim case is related to the larger smartphone patent
war being fought by Apple, Microsoft and mobile phone
makers who use Google's Android software such as Samsung

German judge Holger Kircher said on Wednesday Microsoft
breached an agreement with Motorola Mobility, which is in the
process of being bought by Google, in using certain
video-compression software in products including Windows 7 and

But following complaints by Microsoft and Apple the EU
competition authorities have opened two investigations into
whether Motorola has been over-charging for the use of its
patents in their rival products.

Technology companies have invested billions of dollars in
buying up patent portfolios that they can use defensively or
offensively against rivals and spent still more money litigating
in the United States and Europe.

Last week a judge for the U.S. International Trade
Commission also said Microsoft infringed Motorola Mobility's
patents for technology used in the Xbox's wireless internet
connection and video compression functions.


However, Wednesday's ruling is also expected to have little
immediate impact for Microsoft's wider European distribution
operations as it has already moved its regional software
distribution centre to the Netherlands from Germany in
anticipation of adverse judgments in the patent trial.

Germany has in recent months become a major battleground in
the global patent war between makers of mobile phones, tablet
computer devices and their operating software as court actions
there have proved to be relatively cheap and speedier than in
other jurisdictions.

Earlier this year German courts forced Korea's Samsung
Electronics to stop selling its Galaxy 10.1 tablet
notification features for some customers in Germany.

(Editing by Greg Mahlich)