Legal Issues

Aiming to crack down on a growing problem, Microsoft said it filed five lawsuits Thursday against parties it suspects of posting online advertisements laden with malicious code.

Microsoft has tried to work with ad networks to thwart such "malvertising" in the past, but this is the first time it has gone to court.

"Our filings in King County Superior Court in Seattle outline how we believe the defendants operated, but in general, malvertising works by camouflaging malicious code as harmless online advertisements," Microsoft Associate General Counsel Tim Cranton said in a blog posting.

In each case, … Read more

A pro-open-source group said on Tuesday that it has acquired 22 patents recently sold by Microsoft--patents that the group said could have been used against Linux.

The Open Invention Network said that the patents were purchased from Microsoft by an entity known as the Allied Security Trust. OIN said it has now acquired the patents from AST, although it wouldn't say how much it paid.

"Today's announcement evidences OIN's continued commitment to acquire patents that may be relevant to Linux," OIN CEO Keith Bergelt said in a statement. "The prospect of these patents being … Read more

Microsoft late Tuesday filed its formal appeal of a patent infringement ruling that threatens to halt sales of Word in its current form.

In May, a jury ordered Microsoft to pay $200 million for infringing on a patent held by Canada's I4i. Earlier this month, a federal judge increased that monetary award and also issued an injunction barring sales of Word that include the custom XML code found to infringe on I4i's patents.

"We believe the court erred in its interpretation and application of the law in this case and look forward to the September 23 hearing … Read more

Microsoft apologized Tuesday for using photo editing techniques to change the race of a person depicted on the company's Web site.

In a photo on the company's U.S. Web site, three businesspeople--one black, one white and one Asian are shown as part of a pitch for Microsoft's business productivity software. In the same photo on the site of Microsoft's Polish subsidiary, a white head is placed over the black person's body, although the hand is not changed.

The move sparked controversy after it was noticed, quickly making the rounds on Twitter and various Web … Read more

A federal appeals court has scheduled a hearing next month to decide whether to uphold a ruling that would force Microsoft to stop selling Word in its current form.

A district court judge last week issued an injunction that would halt sales of any version of Word that includes a custom XML function that was found by a jury to infringe on a patent from Canada's I4i. In May, that jury also dinged Microsoft with $200 million in damages, an amount that the judge hiked to more than $290 million at the same time he ordered the injunction, which … Read more

In a reversal on Friday, Microsoft said it is now open to allowing users in Europe to select competing browsers in Windows 7.

Essentially, Microsoft is offering to put into Windows a way for consumers to easily install a rival to Internet Explorer. PC makers, as they can today, could still install a rival browser and could also disable Internet Explorer, if they choose.

"Under our new proposal, among other things, European consumers who buy a new Windows PC with Internet Explorer set as their default browser would be shown a 'ballot screen' from which they could, if they … Read more

Yesterday, I got an e-mail from a reader who had seen my story about Twitter users slamming CNN for its initial absence on the post-Iranian election protests, urging me to remove an image in the story.

The rationale? The image was of Twitter results and included users' account IDs, and the reader was worried that the Iranian government might seek out and punish any users who were employing Twitter for potentially subversive purposes.

We decided not to remove the image, in part because it had been up for more than 24 hours, and also because we suspected that the Iranian … Read more

Microsoft and the state of Mississippi said Thursday that they have reached a settlement in a class-action suit over the pricing of Windows and Office. Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft will pay $40 million to the state and up to $60 million in vouchers to consumers, businesses, schools, and local governments.

The deal is similar to the many settlements that Microsoft struck with states in years past.

Those in Mississippi who purchased Microsoft products or computers containing Microsoft products between January 1, 1996, and Thursday will be eligible to receive a voucher of $12 or $5, depending on … Read more

Microsoft is reportedly facing another antitrust inquiry, this time from the Russians.

According to a Reuters report Thursday, regulators there argue that Microsoft is violating Russian antitrust law by limiting supplies of Windows XP while demand exists and forcing people to buy Windows Vista.

Microsoft has largely stopped selling Windows XP for use on new computers, although it is still allowed in some emerging markets as well as for very low-cost machines, such as Netbooks.

The software maker says it has yet to be notified of the complaint.

"Microsoft has not yet received notice of any new investigation," … Read more