German Court Grants Motorola Xbox and Windows 7 Sales Ban 163
First time accepted submitter Celexi writes "In a surprising move, Motorola Mobility (which is to be taken over by Google), has won an injunction preventing the distribution of Windows 7 and the Xbox in Germany until Microsoft starts paying royalty fees for the patents Microsoft is said to be infringing (two patents used to display H.264 video). The ruling is suspended as of now because of a restraining order, the effect in the rest of the EU and U.S. if the ban is enforced if the restraining order is lifted, is unclear."
This could go into effect as soon as May 7th, pending the result of the next U.S. case hearing.
Not really. (Score:2, Insightful)
In a surprising move
I don't see what's so surprising about it.
Google has proven quite a few times as of late it's just as bad as every other company.
So why wouldn't they pull a move often used by every other bad company?
For all those who bashed webM/Mozilla (Score:5, Insightful)
All I have to say is I told you so.
Like Motorolla would be happy letting you download and use a HTML 5 browser for free. Obviously you simply can't.
With this and the potential ruling that merely syntax is copyrightable in the Oracle VS Google case 2 things will happen. Either people will see how rediculious patents and copyright are and change. Or the bribery will continue and no one but big pockets will compete. Hell, MS has big pockets and still are getting nailed. This is getting nuts.
It seems China and India are the only ones not crazy here.
Re:Google has lowered itself to patent proxy wars (Score:5, Insightful)
Legally maybe, but reasonably?
Were you cheering for them as they trolled companies using Linux and demanded they pay for "Linux licenses?"
And if you were even remotely successful Microsoft would still threaten you. Patents are just one of Microsoft's weapons to wield against competitors.
Re:Google has lowered itself to patent proxy wars (Score:1, Insightful)
Oh yeah, cos Microsoft can be trusted, they have proved that repeatedly over the years.
Good ole trustworthy Microsoft
I'm neither a Google fanboy or a Microsoft shill. I like Google as a company and I enjoy a lot of their products and I use a lot of Microsoft products as well. The only thing these companies can be trusted to do is look after their bottom line. Any other community based action they take is a plus and has an expected life span of about a millisecond. You could turn around and find it gone with no explanation or comeback whatsoever.
As far as Android goes, I would choose it over iOS and WP7 in a heartbeat, simply because I like the platform. I am currently waiting for Windows 8 to come out so I can plant it on my Acer W501 tablet, where I think it will excel. Kinda wish I got the A500 though, cos it looks a better platform again.
Don't talk about trust when it comes to companies. The word is almost meaninless when applied to them.
Whaaaaaaa (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft gets $15 per Android handset for patents so weak they won't reveal in public. So if Google sticks it to Microsoft the world is a better place and good on them.
To use Microsoft's own phrase "Whaaaaaaaa".
Don't dish it out if you can't take it.
Re:Not really. (Score:5, Insightful)
So why wouldn't they pull a move often used by every other bad company?
The bad company here is Microsoft, making billions on Android, an OS which it did zilch to build. So Google is hitting back in self defense. Don't get our panties in a twist, yet.
Re:Who wins here? (Score:4, Insightful)
Er, the lawyers?
Re:Software patents (Score:4, Insightful)
Despite having "software" in the name, "software patents" include all patents on algorithms and protocols—anything which can be implemented in software—of which WiFi and H.264 are obvious examples. So long as the patent would cover a software implementation, it's a software patent; the fact that any software can also be implemented in fixed hardware is irrelevant.
If the patent only covers a particular was of implementing the algorithm or protocol in hardware, and thus would not apply to any software implementation, then it's still an unjust act of aggression, and a net loss to society, but it's not a software patent.
Re:Doesn't mean jack (Score:2, Insightful)
Ha ha, good one! We all know that there are no computers in Nebraska. Nice try.