Judge Recommends Banning Xbox Imports to the US

[Karloff]

Judge Recommends Banning Xbox Imports to the US

In the ongoing dispute between Motorola and Microsoft, Obama may be the Xbox 360's only hope.

Judge David Shaw has recommended to the International Trade Commission that imports of Xbox 4GB and 250GB consoles to the United States should be banned because the technology infringes Motorola patents. If the ITC accepts Judge Shaw's recommendation then President Obama has sixty days to review the decision before it passes to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The Judge also suggested that Microsoft post a bond equivalent to 7% the value of unsold consoles already within the United States, falling far short of Motorola's request of 100%.

This recommendation follows Judge Shaw's decision, announced in April, that Microsoft had infringed on temporarily blocked [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116914-Court-Rules-Against-Xbox-in-Motorola-Patent-Suit] by a US court decision.

Microsoft claimed that such a ban would be bad for the consumer, arguing that a restriction on imports would leave Sony and Nintendo the dominant force in the market. Judge Shaw didn't think much of that line of reasoning, however, saying that protecting intellectual property was more important.

The public version of Judge Shaw's decision has yet to be released; the decision, by necessity, includes proprietary information, which neither Microsoft nor Motorola wants published in a public forum.

Sources: Eurogamer [http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/05/22/46716.htm]

Permalink

 

[FEichinger]

Soooo ... assembly lines will move back to the US, I assume?

 

[Noble_Lance]

If Microsoft broke the law with those patents they should be punished for it no matter how much it affects the gamers. Though FEichinger that would be nice for the distribution, you would think we could lower those price tags a bit more on the transportation costs.

 

[Epidemiix]

I hope everyone is ready for the new Xbox!
I foresee this being a reason for Microsoft to push and try to get that new Xbox done.

 

[FEichinger]

If Microsoft broke the law with those patents they should be punished for it no matter how much it affects the gamers. Though FEichinger that would be nice for the distribution, you would think we could lower those price tags a bit more on the transportation costs.

Oh, I was merely hinting at the fact that it's rather likely that M$ will just get around that ban by importing anything they can (all hardware prior to a certain point in assembly), putting it together in the US and selling it from there.

I do, however, endorse any measures against corporate theft.

 

[Dryk]

"You can't stop us from doing what we like, it's bad for the consumer"

"Do you actually think I'm going to fall for that?"


Also now that this is over does that mean that they can let the German injunction go through?

 

[Baresark]

Haha, that judge is retarded. They all are. IP is more important than consumer rights... WRONG! IP's exist to protect the consumer as much as they do the person who came up with an idea. I mean, lets face facts though, Microsoft is making that argument for them and not the consumer. If you are familiar with MS outside the realm of Xbox systems, you know this already. Enforcing this restriction would only increase the cost of the system. As others have said, better get ready for the new Xbox.

 

[Irridium]

Microsoft is saying something is bad for consumers.

Hilarious.

 

[Imthatguy]

God this is stupid. Copyrights held on widely used formats only hurt the consumer and limits the format's distribution itself.

 

[FEichinger]

Haha, that judge is retarded. They all are. IP is more important than consumer rights... WRONG! IP's exist to protect the consumer as much as they do the person who came up with an idea. I mean, lets face facts though, Microsoft is making that argument for them and not the consumer. If you are familiar with MS outside the realm of Xbox systems, you know this already. Enforcing this restriction would only increase the cost of the system. As others have said, better get ready for the new Xbox.

M$ infringed Motorola's patent, thus IP. So, the consumers, whose rights are to be "protected" by the IP - as per your logic - are Motorola's consumers, not Microsoft's ... Therefore, the judge's reasoning of Motorola's IP being more important than Microsoft's consumers is perfectly valid.

 

[GiglameshSoulEater]

M$

I'm sorry, but please.. .don't do that. Really.
It's just... no.

I realise you may think its witty, or profound, or a bold statement, but it just... looks silly.

Also, why can a US judge block a German court proceeding? Is it just another example of American enforcing itself on the world, or what?

 

[teebeeohh]

and this is why copyright law is so fucking awesome and pirates are pure evil

 

[weirdee]

here comes the panic and stockpiling

i can see it now, "tempers flare as rampant red ring ruins reserves"

 

[Robert Ewing]

and this is why copyright law is so fucking awesome and pirates are pure evil

This a thousand and one times.

 

[FEichinger]

M$

I'm sorry, but please.. .don't do that. Really.
It's just... no.

I realise you may think its witty, or profound, or a bold statement, but it just... looks silly.

Also, why can a US judge block a German court proceeding? Is it just another example of American enforcing itself on the world, or what?

I associate "MS" with something else, thus prever "M$" when referring to Microsoft, simple as that. I actually believe Microsoft's tactics are far more ... humane, than those of many other companies, when it comes to money.

As for the block on the German proceeding, take this quote from the respective article (as linked in this article):

How can a U.S. court overrule a German ruling? That little twist, as explained by phoneArena, comes thanks to a "procedural anomaly" in German law that requires any company winning an injunction against another to meet other requirements, which often includes the posting of a bond, before the injunction can be enforced. The U.S. court cannot override the German ruling but it can, and apparently did, issue a restraining order preventing Motorola from seeking enforcement of the injunction.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Meh, they can ban the 360.

My Motorola console has WAY better games anyway....

 

[Baresark]

Haha, that judge is retarded. They all are. IP is more important than consumer rights... WRONG! IP's exist to protect the consumer as much as they do the person who came up with an idea. I mean, lets face facts though, Microsoft is making that argument for them and not the consumer. If you are familiar with MS outside the realm of Xbox systems, you know this already. Enforcing this restriction would only increase the cost of the system. As others have said, better get ready for the new Xbox.

M$ infringed Motorola's patent, thus IP. So, the consumers, whose rights are to be "protected" by the IP - as per your logic - are Motorola's consumers, not Microsoft's ... Therefore, the judge's reasoning of Motorola's IP being more important than Microsoft's consumers is perfectly valid.

IP's protect consumers by not allowing cheap knockoffs to be sold to a consumer that bear the name of the original creation. Inhibiting the production of a device does not protect consumers at all in this case. Especially since, from a consumer perspective, MS is not laying claim to the creation of a device as much as they are simply using a device. It's one of those catch 22's of IP laws. In this case it's not in the consumers interest for the device to not be sold. It's probably one of the few times MS and consumer values are in perfect alignment. Furthermore, Motorola's consumers are not harmed by the use of the Xbox360. People are not choosing to pick either the Motorola or MS version of a product.

Really, the problems is that no one should be trying to inhibit sales or productions of a device. That will only serve to harm the consumer, create artificial shortages, and drive prices up. Everyone should just learn to be adults about this kind of thing. MS should admit their shortcomings and offer Motorola money for the use of their IP. Motorola in turn should not be trying to force MS to stop production and sales of Xbox360's.

 

[mrdude2010]

The problem with patenting widely used formula's- you end up with ridiculous rulings like this. Hell, Microsoft patented x86, so maybe it's about time they got what was coming to them.

 

[The_Darkness]

In the ongoing dispute between Motorola and Microsoft, Obama may be the Xbox 360's only hope.

Allow me to rephrase that for you:

Microsoft (wearing that bizarre hair-style): "Help us Obama-Wan Kenobi, you're our only hope!"

Sorry, couldn't resist