Just six weeks after it sued Motorola for patent infringement, Microsoft is out with fresh allegations against the mobile phone maker. This time, it’s arguing that Motorola is charging excessive royalties for licensing rights to a video technology standard.
Microsoft uses the international H.264 video standard in its Xbox 360 gaming console, and alleges that Motorola has sought unreasonable compensation for the use of the technology, a charge that Motorola vigorously denies. Datamation has the story.
Microsoft filed suit against Motorola on Tuesday after, it said, it tried unsuccessfully to get the U.S. cell phone maker to license Motorola patents that have been incorporated into international standards under “reasonable and non-discriminatory” (RAND) terms. The charge? Breach of contract.
The move comes not quite six weeks after Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) sued Motorola (NYSE: MOT) for — the software maker alleges — infringing patents that it owns, which are used in Google’s Android mobile device operating system. Motorola makes smartphones based on Android.