Microsoft Sues Motorola Over “Unreasonable Royalties” Related To Xbox Tech

Microsoft has sued Motorola earlier this week for charging “excessive and discriminatory” royalties for Motorola’s patents that Microsoft used in the Xbox 360, smartphones and Windows products.

Microsoft uses WLAN and H.264 video codec patents under license from Motorola. However, Microsoft says that “Motorola broke its promises to license patents it asserted as related to wireless technologies known as ‘WLAN’ and to video coding technologies generally known as ‘H.264′ under reasonable rates.”

Their main concern is that Motorola licensed the technology at reasonable rates for use by Microsoft to “induce reliance”. After Microsoft used the technology, Motorola is now “demanding royalties that are excessive and discriminatory”.

As the plaintiff, Microsoft is asking that Motorola be prevented from demanding further excessive royalties and that the royalties demanded by Motorola be decreed unreasonable. It also asks that Microsoft be able to license WLAN wireless and H.624 video encoding technology “on reasonable terms and conditions,” as well as be reimbursed for court and lawyers’ fees.

via Gamasutra (source Gamespot)