Judge sides with Microsoft in Motorola lawsuit

A United States trade judge has ruled that Microsoft's Xbox 360 does not violate Motorola patents, according to a new report from Bloomberg. In a terse note, International Trade Commission judge David Shaw sided with Microsoft in the lawsuit.

"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," Microsoft corporate vice president and deputy general counsel David Howard told the site.

As part of the decision, Google is allowed to call on the commission to overrule the judge's findings and thus enact an import ban on Xbox 360 consoles.

"We are disappointed with today's determination and look forward to the full Commission's review," Google spokesperson Matt Kallman said in a statement.

In April last year, the ITC ruled that the Xbox 360 violated a string of patents Motorola holds for video decoding, Wi-Fi connections, and console-to-accessory connections. And in May, a German court decision banned the sale of Xbox 360 consoles in that country, though it had no immediate effect, because Microsoft was granted a preliminary injunction.

Microsoft previously rejected a Motorola settlement offer that would have the Seattle tech giant pay a royalty fee of 2.25 percent on every Xbox 360 sold.