14 DAY TRIAL // This October, Microsoft's monarchic attitude showed itself once again when it decided to limit the possibility of using Xbox 360 addons that were not manufactured by the company itself. Everything that Larry Hryb deemed as "unauthorized Memory Units" became unusable after the update was applied on a 360 console. The company didn't point any specific accusing fingers at anyone, but it's very clear that the main target of this attack was the British manufacturer Datel. The company provides memory units with larger capacities at lower prices than Microsoft, so you can easily see why Gates' empire would feel like someone is cutting into its piece of pie.
But Datel claims that what Microsoft did was illegal, and even if some might think that it was its right to do whatever it wanted with its products, that might not be true. Yesterday morning, the law firm of Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk, & Rabkin announced that it had filed a lawsuit against the corporate giant on behalf of Datel. Microsoft stands being accused of violating antitrust laws by limiting 360 users' access to Microsoft accessories, an illegal practice.
"Microsoft has taken steps to render inoperable the competing Datel memory card for no visible purpose other than to have that market entirely to themselves," the law firm's Director, Marty Glick, said. "They accomplished recent update by making a system change that will not recognize or allow operation of a memory card with greater capacity than own. We believe that with the power Microsoft enjoys in the market for Xbox accessories this conduct is unlawful."
The lawsuit demands the San Francisco federal court to force Microsoft to remove the update component that restricts the use of current or future Datel storage units, but also to pay three times the damages that the UK-based peripheral maker suffered from the update. Microsoft is also expected to compensate for the attorney and court fees paid by Datel to the law firm. Microsoft has not yet provided an official response to the lawsuit, but it's likely that it will do so very soon.