Xbox 360 banned from imports into the U.S.?

A recommendation issued by an administrative law judge for the International Trade Commission prohibits the import of Microsoft’s 4GB and 250GB Xbox 360 game consoles into the U.S. This ban is just another episode in the battle between Microsoft and Motorola, Google’s latest acquisition.

This recommendation comes up as a result of Microsoft’s infringement of Motorola’s digital video patents. Just a week before this recommendation was issued, the same International Trade for Commission banned Motorola from importing Android devices that infringe on Microsoft’s patents which means that Motorola would have to remove this technology from Android devices or get a licensing agreement with Microsoft.

Microsoft will have to deal with a similar situation if the recommendation issued by the administrative law judge is finalized by ITC. This means that Xbox 360 imports in the U.S. will be banned. Moreover, the same judge recommended that Microsoft should pay a bond equal to 7% of the value of unsold Xbox 360s available already in the United States.

Still, Microsoft says that this recommendation has no “immediate effect on the availability of Xbox 360 in the U.S”. According to a statement coming from Microsoft, the company remains confident that the recommendation will be in Microsoft’s favor and that Motorola will have to make its standard essential patents “available on fair and reasonable terms”.