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Court Denies Microsoft's Motion to Dismiss Datel's Claims
Hardware manufacturer Datel has won the latest legal skirmish in its ongoing battle with Microsoft, as a U.S. District Court has denied Microsoft's motion to dismiss Datel's pending antitrust suit. The UK-based firm is suing Microsoft over an October console update that disabled third-party memory cards including Datel's from working.
The most egregious claim -- that Datel was being prevented from competing in the video game console market -- did get thrown out by the court, but the other five antitrust allegations stand. Microsoft's lawyers argued that language restricting the use of "unauthorized peripherals" in the Additional Terms & Conditions in the Xbox 360's warranty was enough to give the company the right to disable third-party devices from working. This finding by the court doesn't mean that it agrees with Datel, but it does mean that it feels that the issue is worth more rigorously investigating.
As noted when we first reported on this back in November, Microsoft would have you believe that it is merely protecting the integrity of Xbox Live by disabling third-party memory, which some unscrupulous gamers had used to successfully hack the system. Surely it had nothing to do with the profit margins inherent in selling 256MB of storage for $30, while you could get eight times as much from a third-party card for $45.
Of course, you can now use any old USB thumb drive to enhance your 360's storage, so the situation is much different than it was when the suit was filed. The larger issue at hand -- how far hardware manufacturers can legally go to limit access to their systems -- is still critical. Don't hold your breath for a decision to be handed down from a judge, though, as our court system isn't exactly known for its lightning-quick response times.
[via Joystiq]
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