Patent ruling could block US Xbox 360 imports

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In what could turn out to be a massive problem for Microsoft a judge in Washington DC has ruled in favour of Motorola against Microsoft in a patent infringement case which could possibly force Microsoft to stop importing the Xbox 360 in from China.

The patent apparently relates to Wi-Fi technology and video decoding and really is a sign of the current patent wars that are plaguing the world at the moment with Motorola appearing to have nothing left to offer society apart from lawsuits.

The ruling now means that a 6 man panel will investigate if Microsoft really has used the patent and if so they would then be forced to either pay for its use or cease and desist all use of the technology which would then force them to stop bringing the Xbox 360 into the country.

The end result will simply be either Microsoft walking away scot free or being forced to hand over a huge chunk of cash to Motorola and then passing that pain onto the consumers.

Without more information around the patent it’s hard to say whether Motorola is likely to go after NIntendo and Sony next but I can’t see how the WiFi could be so different between the 3 consoles.