Xbox 360 US import ban decision delayed

It will take months to decide whether or not to impose a US import ban on the Xbox 360. The ITC was supposed to rule in August but has referred the case between Microsoft and Motorola back to court.

A US import ban on the Xbox 360 seemed imminent at the end of May when a judge associated with the International Trade Commission advised the entire ITC committee for such a ban. The judge reached his advisory opinion after Microsoft was found guilty in August of last year of infringing four of Motorola’s five patents filed. The six-member ITC committee was due to decide on the case in late August, but instead, the ITC has referred the case back to the appropriate judge for reconsideration, according to Reuters.

It can be concluded from the decision that the Committee doubts that there is a patent infringement. The ITC would not be sure whether Microsoft could be held responsible for importing a device that, while capable of performing the encoding and decoding method described in the patents, but for which it is not immediately clear whether it is actually infringing is being made, describes The Verge. While the outcome of this isn’t clear, it will at least mean a delay for Microsoft: a new decision is likely to be months away, possibly not until 2013.