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Court of Appeals Confirms Microsoft Infringed Patent
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has confirmed a lower court’s finding of patent infringement against Microsoft Corp. and its Office software. In June 2005, a California jury had originally awarded the patentee almost $9 Million US in damages for the period ending July 2003, ruling that the method of linking between Microsoft’s Access database and Excel spreadsheet infringed Carlos Armando Amado’s U.S. patent.
Microsoft altered its Office software and alerted its customers in January 2006 that they may need to start using the new version as a result of the legal ruling. This was the first time the software company took such a step for purely legal reasons. With the verdict and award, existing installations may continue to be used but new installations require the updated versions of Office 2003 with Service Pack 2 or Office XP with the special patch. Amado claimed to have invented his technology while a graduate student at Stanford University. He said he offered to sell the technology to Microsoft but was refused.
For additional The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has confirmed a lower court’s finding of patent infringement against Microsoft Corp. and its Office software. In June 2005, a California jury had originally awarded the patentee almost $9 Million US in damages for the period ending July 2003, ruling that the method of linking between Microsoft’s Access database and Excel spreadsheet infringed Carlos Armando Amado’s U.S. patent.
Microsoft altered its Office software and alerted its customers in January 2006 that they may need to start using the new version as a result of the legal ruling. This was the first time the software company took such a step for purely legal reasons. With the verdict and award, existing installations may continue to be used but new installations require the updated versions of Office 2003 with Service Pack 2 or Office XP with the special patch. Amado claimed to have invented his technology while a graduate student at Stanford University. He said he offered to sell the technology to Microsoft but was refused.
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