Judge tosses Microsoft's 'Psystar' antitrust defense

A federal judge last Friday denied all but one of Microsoft's motions to toss out antitrust claims brought by a company that sells Xbox 360 accessories armed with video game cheats.

In her order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte also quashed Microsoft's attempt to tie Apple's legal victory over a Mac clone maker to its battle against Staffordshire, England-based Datel Design & Development Ltd.

Laporte granted just one of the six requests Microsoft made in last January when the company's lawyers asked her to dismiss multiple antitrust allegations by Datel. The maker of video game memory boards and controllers first filed antitrust charges against Microsoft in November 2009.

"We're gratified that the case will proceed and Datel looks forward to reestablishing the benefits of competition in the accessory market for all Xbox 360 users," said Daniel Asimow, an attorney with San Francisco-based Howard Rice, the law firm representing Datel.

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