Xbox 360 banned in Germany, says judge

A German court has granted Motorola Mobility an injunction against the distribution of Microsoft's Xbox platform line in Germany, Reuters reports. The Mannheim court ruled today that Microsoft must remove a string of products from the German market, including the Xbox 360 and devices running the Windows 7 operating system.

The move will not have immediate implications, the site reports, because a US district court in Seattle, Washington, has granted Microsoft a preliminary injunction against Motorola that prevents the phone company from enacting the German 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 broken promise," a Microsoft representative told the site.

Additionally, Reuters reports that Microsoft has already moved its software distribution center in Europe from Germany to the Netherlands, ahead of anticipated decisions in the ongoing patent trials.

This news follows a US International Trade Commission judge determining last week that Microsoft's Xbox 360 hardware infringes on Motorola Mobility patents for video decoding, Wi-Fi connection, and console-to-accessory connections.