A U.S. appeals court has upheld a ruling that Microsoft's Office software infringes on a Guatemalan inventor's technology, lawyers for the inventor said Friday.
Morrison & Foerster said that on Wednesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington affirmed a verdict that Microsoft's Office software infringed on a patent held by Carlos Armando Amado. In June 2005, an Orange County, Calif., jury awarded Amado $6.1 million, ruling that Microsoft's method of linking its Access database and Excel spreadsheet infringed on Amado's technology.
"This ruling signals the validity of the patent and confirms Microsoft's liability of infringement on Mr. Amado's software program," Vince Belusko, a Morrison & Foerster partner, said in a statement. A Microsoft representative did not immediately have a comment.
Both sides had appealed the original verdict, with the court rejecting both appeals. The appeals court said it would let the lower court decide how much, if any, of escrow funds should go to Amado.
"When the district court makes that determination, any party
believing itself aggrieved by that order may appeal to this court," the court said in its ruling.
Morrison & Foerster said it is hoping that the federal court will award Amado further damages for continuing infringement, out of an escrow account that now has more than $65 million in it.
"We are hopeful that the District Court will now award Mr. Amado substantial monies from that escrow account when the matter is returned to the court."
Since the jury verdict last year, Microsoft has altered Office, alerting businesses back in January that they will need to upgrade to the modified version.
The sad thing is software patents are abused more and more in the past few years. People patent things that almost anyone would come up with, and sit on it until they can make big bucks sueing the first poor souls who dare unknowingly use it.
Microsoft violated "Amado's technology" by linking two database systems together? That's really absurd, I know a few program's I've written in the past must have violated their "technology"(read: patent squatting) many times in the past.
I know it's cool and it's hip to beat down on Microsoft, but I can see this happening to anyone. When a patent system can award a patent to a five year old for a "method of swinging side to side", we know something is wrong.
The sad thing is software patents are abused more and more in the past few years. People patent things that almost anyone would come up with, and sit on it until they can make big bucks sueing the first poor souls who dare unknowingly use it.
Microsoft violated "Amado's technology" by linking two database systems together? That's really absurd, I know a few program's I've written in the past must have violated their "technology"(read: patent squatting) many times in the past.
I know it's cool and it's hip to beat down on Microsoft, but I can see this happening to anyone. When a patent system can award a patent to a five year old for a "method of swinging side to side", we know something is wrong.
The weird thing is a judge who gets paid to make rulings is too stupid to understand that the patent is trivial and just a meal ticket for cheap assed lawyers
The weird thing is a judge who gets paid to make rulings is too stupid to understand that the patent is trivial and just a meal ticket for cheap assed lawyers
"This ruling signals the validity of the patent..." No it doesn't. The problem is that the patent system really stinks. But it's not up to a judge or jury to decide if a patent is valid or not.
The procecution provides evidence that says "Company X owns the patent for doing Y. Company Z is doing Y, and therefore is in infringement." A jury or judge may think it's the dumbest patent in the world, but for the most part have to agree with the statement. I blame the patent office.
Flavoring Fountain Valley is adhering to anarchy; really come together.
it's no wonder why there is another ten years before individual justice and soy beans. i'm latent to the means of pinto beans on the AMEX: "Show me the money!"
Google creates an animated doodle that features a boy, a girl, Google's search engine, and a jump rope. But might there be darker, more analytical, more troubling interpretations to this tale?
The Silicon Valley online payments startup grew by 1,000 percent last year and is hopeful it can repeat that level of growth this year. To do that, it's had to move away from its early friends-and-family roots and embrace small businesses.
Chamtech's spray-on antenna uses a nano material to provide a low-power boost to antenna range. The wireless-in-a-can product may some day bring an end to unsightly cell towers.
EnerG2 opens a plant to make an engineered carbon that will improve performance of energy storage devices and make storage for start-stop hybrid cars less expensive.
machine it claims to be. This article just proves it.
Oh happy day!!!
The sad thing is software patents are abused more and more in the past few years. People patent things that almost anyone would come up with, and sit on it until they can make big bucks sueing the first poor souls who dare unknowingly use it.
Microsoft violated "Amado's technology" by linking two database systems together? That's really absurd, I know a few program's I've written in the past must have violated their "technology"(read: patent squatting) many times in the past.
I know it's cool and it's hip to beat down on Microsoft, but I can see this happening to anyone. When a patent system can award a patent to a five year old for a "method of swinging side to side", we know something is wrong.
The sad thing is software patents are abused more and more in the past few years. People patent things that almost anyone would come up with, and sit on it until they can make big bucks sueing the first poor souls who dare unknowingly use it.
Microsoft violated "Amado's technology" by linking two database systems together? That's really absurd, I know a few program's I've written in the past must have violated their "technology"(read: patent squatting) many times in the past.
I know it's cool and it's hip to beat down on Microsoft, but I can see this happening to anyone. When a patent system can award a patent to a five year old for a "method of swinging side to side", we know something is wrong.
No it doesn't. The problem is that the patent system really stinks. But it's not up to a judge or jury to decide if a patent is valid or not.
The procecution provides evidence that says "Company X owns the patent for doing Y. Company Z is doing Y, and therefore is in infringement." A jury or judge may think it's the dumbest patent in the world, but for the most part have to agree with the statement. I blame the patent office.
HAHAHAHAHAAH