The International Trade Commission on Monday found that Microsoft has infringed on four Motorola patents with its Xbox gaming console.
Three of those patents are considered "essential" patents, or part of FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) licensing obligations. FRAND holds that if a company holds a patent on a technology that is essential to a particular industry, they should make every effort to license that technology, even to major rivals.
As noted by patent blogger Florian Mueller, however, "the ITC limits the ability of defendants to raise FRAND issues." Those who bring FRAND-related counterclaims, for example, "have to immediately sever them from the ITC investigation and assert them in a federal lawsuit."
"The ITC itself [i]s more focused on other aspects of these cases, based on which it can and sometimes (but not necessarily) does order import bans," Mueller wrote in a blog post. "The opinion of one ITC judge on a FRAND defense is, in my opinion, far less meaningful than what federal courts and antitrust regulators say."
But don't expect the Xbox to disappear from store shelves. "Even if an infringement of a patent presumed valid is deemed to have occurred, the ITC does not necessarily order an import ban or other measures, such as a cease-and-desist order," Mueller said.
In a statement, Motorola said it was pleased by the ruling.
"Microsoft continues to infringe Motorola Mobility's patent portfolio, and we remain confident in our position," Motorola said. "This case was filed in response to Microsoft's litigate-first patent attack strategy, and we look forward to the full commission's ruling in August."
Microsoft said the decision is just a first step before the ITC's final ruling. "We remain confident the Commission will ultimately rule in Microsoft's favor in this case and that Motorola will be held to its promise to make its standard essential patents available on fair and reasonable terms," a spokeswoman said.
The case dates back to late 2010, when the two companies sued each other multiple times over patent issues.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 11:45am Eastern with comment from Microsoft.