Who's Suing Microsoft Now?

It seems like Microsoft is the constant target for lawsuits. This week has seen word of two suits possibly being brought against the giant from Redmond. Microsoft has a ton of money and have made decisions in the past that have made them a huge target, but I don't know if this sue happy culture of ours really understands just how hard a target they are. In my opinion, one of these case has a bit of merit and one is questionable.

First up is the possible class action suit being brought against Microsoft in reaction to the mass banning of modified consoles from Xbox Live that took place last week. A law firm called AbingtonIP thinks that this episode of banning was an effort by Microsoft to increase subscriptions to it's Xbox Live service and to increase sales for a couple of high profile releases. Somehow that logic just doesn't make sense to me, but hey, I'm not a judge or a lawyer.

Next up is a suit by Datel, a manufacturer of accessories for Microsoft's Xbox 360. Datel reports that the recent firmware update has blocked usage of the products that the company makes for use on the 360. Microsoft claims that the block on Datel's 3rd party products was not intentional, but does not seem to be all that broken up about it. In a statement Microsoft says that unauthorized products are not tested for compatibility, and therefore, not guaranteed to work. Datel may have a chance with this one, especially considering Microsoft's previous bouts regarding competition, but it's unlikely we'll see any result from either of these soon-if at all.