A U.S. judge this week approved Microsoft's request to temporarily prevent Motorola from blocking sales of its products in Germany.
The decision stems from a patent battle between the two companies over video standards.
Why is a U.S. judge handing down rulings regarding a German case? As patent blogger Florian Mueller explained, U.S. District Judge James Robart isn't restricting what the Manheim court can do regarding the patent dispute. But his ruling means that should Motorola be granted an injunction on products like Windows and the Xbox 360 in Germany, Motorola can't enforce that ruling until the U.S. case is resolved.
The Manheim court is scheduled to make a decision on Motorola's request for an injunction on Microsoft products next Tuesday.
As part of the ruling, Microsoft will be required to post a $100 million bond as insurance of sorts in case Motorola eventually prevails.
In a statement posted to Twitter, David Howard, Microsoft's deputy general counsel, said that "Motorola promised to make its patents available to Microsoft and other companies on fair and reasonable terms. Today's ruling means Motorola can't prevent Microsoft from selling products until the court decides whether Motorola has lived up to its promise."
"As a result of today's hearing, Microsoft has committed to take a license under [Motorola Mobility's] patents essential to certain standards, in the event the court determines that Microsoft is entitled to a RAND-based license," Motorola said in a statement. "Our focus from the outset has been to receive fair value for our intellectual property based on Microsoft's use of [Motorola Mobility's] patented technology."
At issue is something known as FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) licensing obligations, which are intended to keep major corporations in check and avoid abusive patent-related behavior. Basically, 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.
Microsoft's initial complaint against Motorola, in November 2010, alleged a breach of FRAND licensing agreements - or unfair demands. Bloomberg reported recently, for example, that Motorola demanded $4 billion per year in royalty payments from Microsoft related to its Xbox console.
Motorola filed suit in Germany in mid-2011.
Mueller said the FRAND issues before the Seattle court will be decided later this year. A main trial will begin in November, with a "mini-FRAND" trial to start before that.
"It's possible that the outcome of the mini-trial (and any directly related, subsequent rulings) will determine whether Motorola gets to enforce the injunction it may in the meantime win in Germany," Mueller wrote.