Legal Issues

A federal jury in Tyler, Texas, on Wednesday ordered Microsoft to pay $200 million in a patent infringement case.

The jury ruled that the custom XML tagging features of Word 2003 and Word 2007 infringed on a patent from Toronto-based I4i.

A Microsoft representative said the company was "disappointed" by the verdict and would seek to have it reversed.

"We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe and that the I4i patent is invalid," Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster said in a statement. "We believe this award of damages is legally and factually … Read more

Microsoft was hit Wednesday with a $388 million verdict in a long-running patent infringement case.

In the suit, Uniloc alleged that Microsoft used its patented technology as part of the software giant's product activation methods. A federal jury in Rhode Island found that Windows XP, Office XP, and Windows Server 2003 infringed on a Uniloc patent.

Microsoft said that it will appeal.

"We are very disappointed in the jury verdict," Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans said in an e-mail. "We believe that we do not infringe, that the patent is invalid and that this award of damages … Read more

The Russian government is exploring whether Microsoft deserves closer scrutiny under its antitrust laws, specifically whether the software maker should be added to a government-maintained list of companies with high market share.

Being added to the list itself doesn't mean the company is under investigation, but rather that it must comply with laws governing firms that have a significant market share. Unlike in some regions, Russia starts keeping an eye on companies with even a relatively low share. Anything upwards of about 35 percent share could land a company on the list.

"Russian authorities have opened an inquiry … Read more

While reaction to Microsoft's settlement with TomTom was varied on Monday, there seemed to be a consensus that it will do little to settle the many questions related to whether Linux infringes on Microsoft's intellectual property.

Attorney James Gatto, the leader of the intellectual property section at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, said the quick settlement in the case may have as much to do with a pragmatic business decision by TomTom as it does with the legal merits of Microsoft's case. Complex litigation, such as the patent suit and countersuit in this case, could easily add up to $10 million to $15 million in costs, Gatto said.

"I don't think this answers any questions in terms of whether Microsoft's patents in any way cover Linux," Gatto said. Microsoft has long asserted that various implementations of Linux do infringe on its intellectual property and has struck a number of patent deals with companies that either distribute Linux or use it in their products.

The TomTom case, however, marked the first time that Microsoft had made those allegations in court papers.

Open-source pioneer Bruce Perens criticized the settlement, saying that it may instill fear in other companies that are using embedded Linux and thus have something of a chilling effect.

"What strikes me is the un-justice of it all," said Perens, who is the chief executive of open-source software development company Kiloboot. "Microsoft's patents (in the TomTom case) are not innovative, yet TomTom is forced to pay for the patents when a court would probably find them invalid. But rather than spend the money to prove the patents are invalid, because they probably can't afford to go to court and fight it, TomTom licenses the patents."

Gatto said that Microsoft's TomTom move doesn't necessarily mean the company is ready to go to war with Linux. … Read more

Microsoft and TomTom have reached a settlement in their respective patent suits, the companies said Monday.

As part of the deal, as TomTom will pay Microsoft for patent protection related to mapping patents and file-management patents that Microsoft claimed were infringed by TomTom's use of the Linux kernel. Microsoft will also get access to the TomTom patents that were cited in TomTom's countersuit against Microsoft, although Microsoft won't make any payment to TomTom.

In a statement, the two companies said that the settlement provides TomTom patent coverage "in a manner that is fully compliant with TomTom'… Read more

Microsoft is facing another patent infringement suit, this time over the technology it uses to automatically update Windows, Office, and other programs.

In a lawsuit filed March 20, BackWeb Technologies charges that Microsoft's Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), as well as Windows Update and other products, infringe four of BackWeb's patents. BackWeb, which is based in Israel and has U.S. offices in San Jose, Calif., filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

BackWeb seeks, among other things, an injunction against Microsoft, a declaration that BackWeb's patents are valid, and monetary damages.

A … Read more

TomTom, the GPS maker being sued by Microsoft, has joined a collective of companies that have pooled their patents in an effort to help defend open-source software against legal threats.

In a press release on Monday, the Open Invention Network said that TomTom had joined its ranks. The collective aims to create a "supportive and shielded ecosystem to ensure the growth and adoption of Linux" and has amassed a pool of 275 pending and issued patents.

"Linux plays an important role at TomTom as the core of all our portable navigation devices," Peter Spours, director of … Read more

PALM DESERT, Calif.--If a major earthquake hits San Francisco, where CBS Interactive (CNET News' parent) is based, how would everyone in the company communicate with each other in the aftermath?

If the folks at Transformyx, a Baton Rouge, La., company, have anything to say about it, we'd all be using their technology, an online service called RallyPoint.

The idea behind the service is to make it possible for everyone in an organization to stay in touch with each other and to get all the relevant information they need after any kind of significant disaster strikes, be it an … Read more

REDMOND, Wash.--Microsoft's top intellectual property lawyer said that the company's legal action against TomTom over Linux was specific to that company, but he declined to say whether other suits over the open source operating system might follow.

"I wouldn't speculate at this point," Horacio Gutierrez told CNET News in an interview late Wednesday. Gutierrez did add that Microsoft's patent suit against TomTom, which includes three claims related to file management techniques used in the Linux kernel, was specific to that company.

It is the "TomTom implementation of the Linux kernel that infringes … Read more