Microsoft Adds Second Lawsuit to Motorola Fall Reading List

A little over a month after suing Motorola for violating its mobile patents, Microsoft has slapped the company with another suit, this one over its Xbox 360. On Tuesday Microsoft sued Motorola, alleging it charged “excessive and discriminatory” royalties for some of the IP it licensed for use in the gaming console.

Redmond argues that Motorola is contractually bound by agreements with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to license the IP at issue here under “reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions,” but hasn’t done so, opting instead to squeeze it for allegedly inflated sums. Said a Microsoft spokesperson, “[These] commitments are designed to benefit all parties that rely upon these standards, and Microsoft has been harmed by Motorola’s failure to honor them in recent demand letters seeking royalties from Microsoft.”