Patent wars are still raging in plenty of parts of the tech world, but today there’s something of a ceasefire between Google and Microsoft. Google has just filed with the ITC to stop attempts to prevent Microsoft from using certain compression techniques with the Xbox 360.
Microsoft wants to licence a pair of patents that Google now owns through their acquisition of Motorola but hasn’t quite been keen on Google’s licensing terms. The FTC recently ruled against Google for anti-competitive behaviour in using these specific patents, but didn’t explicitly say whether or not cases in progress need to be dropped. And it seems like Google has just gone ahead and bit the proverbial bullet, at least in this instance.
Google’s still got some ongoing spats with Microsoft in specific places like Washington state and Germany, the filing from today doesn’t apply to either of those locations. Still, it seems to imply that Google is backing off — at least a little bit — after that slap from the FTC. It’s also dropped some cases against Apple that involve the Motorola patents. It’s definitely not the end of patent wars in any way shape or form, but it is one less legal volley in the mix, and that’s probably a good thing. [AllThingsD]