ITC judge agrees to ban
An administrative law judge for the International Trade Commission issued a recommendation that the commission ban 4GB and 250 GB Xbox gaming consoles from import to the United States.
The judge is issuing a recommendation only and it has to have the blessing of the full Commission. The recommendation is that Microsoft needs to be punished for infringing against some of Motorola’s patents. The patents permit video transmission and compression on the console and between the console and its controllers.
In Judge David Shaw’s statement, he suggested a cease and desist order be placed against Microsoft. It would, "require the respondent to submit an annual report to the Commission regarding the number and value of infringing goods in its domestic inventory."
Judge Shaw said that Microsoft needed to post a bond equal to 7 percent of the declared value of unsold Xbox inventory already in the country. Microsoft argued that an import ban would adversely affect consumer choice as it would mean that only Sony’s Playstation and Nintendo’s Wii will be available.
But Judge Shaw said Microsoft’s patent infringement is more detrimental to the public interest than the lack of Microsoft as a competitor in the game console market.
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Nick Farrell
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