Google Drops Patent Claims Against Microsoft Following Antitrust Settlement With FTC

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Google has filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission to drop a patent complaint against Microsoft that sought to prevent the company from using video compression technology on its popular Xbox 360 console. The move follows an antitrust settlement Google made with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission earlier this month, which said the company must license patents used in standards to other parties.

Microsoft wants to license two standards-essential patents for H.264 that are owned by Motorola — now a Google subsidiary — but it doesn’t want to agree to Google’s proposed royalty terms, AllThingsD reports. The search giant demanded a 2.25% royalty rate on certain products Microsoft sold.

However, the FTC recently ruled against Google for anti-competitive behavior concerning these specific patents. It did not decide what should happen to ongoing cases, but it seems Google has decided to back down anyway. At least over these patents; it’s still fighting Microsoft over one patent that is not part of an industry standard. The ITC filing Google made on Wednesday does not apply to ongoing cases between the two companies in Washington state or Germany.

Back in October, Google dropped an ITC complaint against Apple over seven Motorola patents.