Microsoft and Datel settle lawsuits

Microsoft and Datel have decided to mutually settle their lawsuits against each other, ending over two years of legal enmity between the two companies.

Initially, the dispute arose after Microsoft released an update for the Xbox 360 which caused all non-official memory cards and storage devices, including Datel's own, to stop working - an act which Datel described as "predatory conduct".

Datel initiated a Californian lawsuit on the grounds that Microsoft had "deliberately harmed competition" with "no visible purpose other than to have that market entirely to themselves."

In response, Microsoft began legal proceedings against Datel for patent infringement over some of the technology used in the company's wireless controllers.

Datel redesigned its controllers and immediately ceased the import of the offending model into the US, whilst Microsoft pursued damages from the company over the infringement.

Now, both cases have been settled, although no details have been made public. In a statement to Bloomberg, Microsoft spokesperson Kevin Kutz said that the cases had been settled "to the satisfaction of both parties."