Google's appeal of patent injunction versus Microsoft denied
updated 05:50 pm EST, Wed November 7, 2012
German injunction still not able to be applied in US
Judges from the Ninth Circuit in the Western District of Washington have shot down Google's request for a rehearing of the decision that bars Motorola from enforcing a German patent injunction against Microsoft. Google had asked for either a rehearing by the same panel of three judges that ruled in the first place, or a hearing in front of the full court. Both requests were denied.
The original ruling granted Microsoft's request for a temporary restraining order against a sales injunction, which was ordered against Microsoft's Xbox 360 console in Germany. The Ninth Circuit ruled that since Microsoft had already brought a lawsuit against Motorola for breach of contract in the US, the US court has the power to stop the European order, allowing Microsoft to continue selling the gaming console and Windows 7 in Germany.
Motorola and Microsoft have been embroiled in a patent dispute involving Microsoft's ActiveSync technology and Motorola's H.264 video playback patent. Microsoft has won bans for ActiveSync patent violation on select Motorola devices in Germany and the United States. Motorola has likewise won a ban on Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console.
Microsoft has refused a settlement offer by Motorola which involved Microsoft paying more than 100 times the industry-standard rate for the H.264 patent. Microsoft may be able to sidestep the large licensing fee entirely, as parent company Google has allegedly offered Microsoft a FRAND-compliant H.264 patent license in the past, and Motorola would be bound by the agreement since Google acquired it as a subsidiary.
