Judge upholds Microsoft's restraining order against Motorola in 'arrogant' lawsuit

A Seattle federal judge has said that he will need more time to consider Motorola Mobility's lawsuit against Microsoft over alleged patent infringements, calling the way in which both companies have conducted themselves "arrogant" and "based on hubris." Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility had previously claimed that Microsoft's Xbox 360 infringed on five of its patents, including video decoding and wi-fi technology from the company. Earlier this month, a judge agreed that Microsoft has infringed on four of these patents, while a German court granted Motorola an injunction against the distribution of various Microsoft products in Germany. However, the company was told that it must await a decision by Judge James Robart of the U.S. District Court of Western Washington regarding whether it can enforce the action from the German court. Following a hearing this week, Judge Robart has now said that he needs more time to consider both sides of the argument. According to the Seattle Times, he noted that it is likely he will deny Motorola's motion for Microsoft to give up its right to licenses under reasonable terms. He also said he will most likely deny Microsoft's own action against Motorola, in which Microsoft alleges that Motorola is charging "excessive and discriminatory" royalties for patents. "The court is well aware it is being used as a pawn in a global, industry-wide business negotiation," he stated, before adding that the argument between the two companies "has been driven by an attempt to secure commercial advantage." "To an outsider looking at it, it has been arbitrary, it has been arrogant and frankly it has been based on hubris," he added. Microsoft released a statement following the hearing which read, "We look forward to seeing Judge Robart's decision on today's hearing and we are pleased the temporary restraining order remains in place pending the further ruling from the court." Motorola said, "We remain confident that Motorola Mobility has honored its FRAND [fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms] commitments, and have a long history of successful and amicable cross-licensing relationships with more than 50 companies. Despite this, Microsoft has refused to negotiate and has instead initiated and continued to pursue an aggressive litigation strategy aimed at attacking Motorola Mobility and the Android platform." "Regardless of their transparent tactics, we are focused on resolving this matter in a way that fairly compensates Motorola Mobility for the use of our valuable IP and protects the interests of our stakeholders."