Xbox 360 banned in Germany in Motorola patent spat

The Xbox 360 has been banned from sale in Germany, following a ruling in a Microsoft versus Motorola patent spat.

The phone-maker was granted an injunction against the popular console, as well as key Microsoft products like Windows 7 system software, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player, the BBC reports.

A German court ruled that Microsoft's products infringed the stuffing out of two Motorola patents related to the H.264 compression standard. Motorola says Microsoft should have paid to license the patented tech, but the Windows-crafting company has said that if it honoured all of Motorola's requests it would be landed with a $4bn (about £2.47bn) bill.

Microsoft seems unphased, saying, "our business in Germany will continue as usual while we appeal this decision."

Lawks. The case echoes courtroom clashes between Apple and Samsung, where the Cupertino company successfully got gadgets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned from sale in Europe. Samsung got Apple products briefly banned in Germany back in February, but the court's decision was quickly overturned.

Tech companies using litigation to try and inconvenience each other has become the norm, but with products yanked from trade shows or made to undergo redesigns, it feels like judicial dust-ups are getting on everyone's nerves.

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