Why I won’t buy another subsidized Android phone (and why you shouldn’t, either)

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Guest Commentary: In the past few weeks, T-Mobile has been trying to shake up the mobile phone industry by offering no-contract plans in conjunction with the iPhone 5. Notably, their USA CEO John Legere put the issue of subsidized phones front-and-center, saying, “This is the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever heard in my life!… Read More…

Judge: Motorola can’t block sales of Xbox, Windows

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Motorola Mobility won’t be able to block the import and sale of Xbox or Windows, a federal judge in Seattle has ruled — siding with Microsoft on one of the key issues in its patent dispute with the Google-owned mobile phone maker. The ruling was made by U.S. District Judge James Robart, who will separately… Read More…

Microsoft vs. Motorola: Courtroom cleared as secret Xbox details discussed

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With the general manager of Microsoft’s Xbox hardware group on the stand in the company’s patent trial vs. Motorola, a federal judge in Seattle this morning cleared the courtroom of spectators and reporters at Microsoft’s request. Exhibits in the case include secret details of the next-generation Xbox, code-named Durango. A Motorola lawyer was expected to… Read More…

Motorola wants to collect royalties on Microsoft Surface, too

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Reporting from federal court: Microsoft’s patent dispute with Motorola focuses largely on technologies used by Windows and the Xbox 360, but the Redmond company’s new Surface tablet computer has been the subject of a couple questions today, on the opening day of the closely watched patent trial at U.S. District Court in Seattle. Why? It turns… Read More…

Microsoft vs. Motorola patent trial begins, with brief Xbox ‘Durango’ mention

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The patent trial pitting Microsoft vs. Google’s Motorola Mobility is getting underway in federal court in Seattle, with a standing-room-only crowd of lawyers and other observers packing the courtroom of U.S. District Judge James Robart. The judge started the morning by saying he hasn’t seen this many people in the room since the case over… Read More…

Microsoft, Google’s Motorola set for trial in high-stakes patent royalty case

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A trial that starts tomorrow morning in federal court in Seattle will focus on how much Motorola Mobility can reasonably charge Microsoft for a set of patents considered essential to implementing industry standards. It might sound like a dry legal topic, but the stakes are huge. Microsoft says the annual bill would add up to… Read More…

Microsoft calls on Google to make ‘comprehensive’ patent peace in Motorola dispute

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[Updated below with Motorola statement] Microsoft’s top lawyer this morning called on Google to “engage in serious discussions” toward a wide-ranging patent licensing deal that would end the thicket of litigation between the Redmond company and Google’s Motorola mobile phone unit. The blog post by Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith is the latest twist in… Read More…

Legislators rally against possible Xbox 360 import ban

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It’s not often that Congress argues in favor of video game consoles, but it appears all bets are off when the issue is patents. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from both parties have been writing letters to the International Trade Commission, siding with Microsoft and others in the tech industry on the issue… Read More…

Google’s antitrust complaint vs. Microsoft and Nokia escalates patent battle

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Google said Thursday that it has filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft and Nokia in Europe, the latest move in a high-stakes dispute among the companies over patents. The complaint targets the sale of about 2,000 patents by Microsoft and Nokia to MOSAID Technologies, an intellectual property licensing firm that focuses on patent licensing as opposed… Read More…

A ban on Xbox imports? Stakes rise in Microsoft’s Motorola patent dispute

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Microsoft’s 4GB and 250GB Xbox 360 game consoles would be banned from import into the U.S. under a recommendation issued by an administrative law judge for the International Trade Commission. The recommendation follows a ruling that Microsoft’s game console infringes on Motorola’s digital video patents. Microsoft argues that Motorola is seeking unreasonable licensing fees for… Read More…