Ropes & Gray IP Litigation Team Scores in Gaming and Entertainment Battle

Ropes & Gray client Motorola Mobility, Inc. (“Motorola”) learned on April 23, 2012 that Administrative Law Judge David Shaw of the U.S. International Trade Commission issued an Initial Determination, based on a two week trial in January, which found valid and infringed four of five Motorola patents asserted against Microsoft’s Xbox gaming system. A fifth patent was found valid but not infringed. Judge Shaw also found that Motorola had proved the unique Domestic Industry requirements and dismissed a variety of affirmative defenses asserted by Microsoft.

As a consequence, Judge Shaw’s Initial Determination is now subject to review by the entire Commission, which is scheduled to issue a Final Determination by August 2012. If the Commission affirms Judge Shaw, it is expected to issue an Exclusion Order under Section 337 of the Trade Act, which would enjoin Microsoft from importing into the United States Xbox systems that infringe Motorola’s patents.

This is one of a number of disputes being litigated worldwide between Motorola and Microsoft. Microsoft initiated the litigation by suing Motorola on October 1, 2010 in the Western District of Washington for infringement of nine Microsoft patents. Since then, a number of additional actions have been filed by both parties in the United States and Germany. Ropes & Gray represents Motorola in three separate patent infringement and breach of contract actions pending in Seattle, as well as in this Section 337 proceeding.

The Ropes team for the ITC action included: Silicon Valley-based IP Litigation partners Jim Batchelder and Mark Rowland and New York-based IP Litigation partners Jesse Jenner, Steve Pepe, as well as associates and technical advisors: Matthew Clements, Alex Middleton, Kevin Post, Matt Rizzolo, Shong Yin and staff assistants Sophia Anzoulatos, Jocina Becker, Joe D’Imperio, Mike Duffey, Kerry Ennis, Corey Green, Kristina Moree, Kai Okumura , Ursula Pando, Bill Serra, and Susan Stone.