Germany Bans Xbox, Windows 7

If you live in Germany and you like Microsoft products, you may want to stock up: A court ordered today that Microsoft remove Xbox 360 and Windows 7 from shelves, after ruling that Microsoft had infringed on Motorola Mobility's patents. But nothing will be pulled yet, Microsoft says, because it has been granted a preliminary injunction against Motorola, preventing Motorola from enforcing the German court order.

The case—part of what Reuters calls the "smartphone patent war" between Apple, Microsoft, and mobile phone makers who use Android—involves an agreement between Microsoft and Motorola related to video-compression software used in Xbox and Windows 7. The German judge found that Microsoft had breached that agreement, but separate investigations are attempting to determine whether Motorola is over-charging rivals to use its patents. Microsoft plans to appeal today's decision. (More Microsoft stories.)