Microsoft has lost the latest round in a patent-infringement case against U.S. International Trade Commission. According to the judge, Theodore Essex, Microsoft has infringed two wireless cellular patents owned by InterDigital, which is a company that designs technologies and licenses them to third parties.
The Judge wrote that U.S. Patents 7,190,966 and 7,286,847, which relate to wireless cellular technologies, were being violated by Microsoft’s smartphones. The patents in the case cover technologies involved in powering up a phone and having it connect to 3G wireless networks. Microsoft acquired Nokia’s Devices and Services division. The ITC has the authority to stop the import of products that it determines infringe a U.S. patent. If the ruling goes against Microsoft, it may cause potential ban on import of Windows Phone devices in the US.