Federal Circuit Upholds Patent Infringement Ruling Against Microsoft

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday affirmed [.pdf] a lower court ruling that ordered Microsoft to stop selling its ubiquitous Word program and fined the company $290 million. A Texas jury previously found that Microsoft’s Word 2007 infringed a software patent held by a Toronto-based technology company, i4i Inc. Following that jury verdict, U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis issued a permanent injunction that prohibited Microsoft from selling the 2003 and 2007 versions of Word, and also ordered the company to pay more than $290 million in penalties.

The infringing versions of Word employ a technology called “Custom XML,” which lets users edit XML, the programming language that controls the way programs interpret and display the contents of a document.

In a statement, Microsoft said that it has been developing modified versions of Word 2007 that do not use the Custom XML feature. Microsoft claims that these modified versions will be ready for sale by January 11, 2010, the date on which the permanent injunction takes effect. Microsoft also noted that it is considering further legal options, “which could include a request for a rehearing by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals en banc or a request for a writ of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court.”

The court noted that its decision did not impact copies of Word 2007 sold before the injunction takes effect, so Microsoft can continue to provide technical support with respect to those versions.

News, Patents, Software, Technology | mmackowski | December 26, 2009 8:52 pm

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