Want to stay current on e–commerce law? Sign up for Email Newsletter.
Microsoft Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court over i4i Patent
Microsoft has filed a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to hear the patent dispute between the Canadian tech company i4i and Microsoft. In August of 2009, a federal jury found that Microsoft had infringed the i4i patent relating to text manipulation software, improperly used by Microsoft in the 2003 and 2007 versions of Microsoft Word.
Microsoft’s petition focuses on proper standards of proof to determine the validity of a patent. It believes that the U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling “departs not only from Supreme Court precedent, but from the rulings of all the other appellate courts.” As such, Microsoft is asking the Supreme Court to hear and resolve the conflict.
There is no guarantee that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case. If the Supreme Court decides against hearing the case, Microsoft will have no further legal avenues, and will be required to pay US$290 million in damages that were awarded to i4i.
For additional information, visit:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67R02N20100828
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100827-712588.html