Software major Microsoft has been directed by a US court to stop selling the MS Word application on grounds that it infringes a patent held by another company. The judge directed MS to pay damages for infringement to I4i, a Canadian company.A DISTRICT COURT in the US state of Texas has directed software major Microsoft (MS) to stop the sale of Microsoft Word application in the US within the next sixty days. The judge issued this direction after finding that the Microsoft Office software violated a patent held by another company. The decision came in a case filed by Canadian software company I4i, which claims a patent on XML or Extensible Markup Language used by many programs including the MS Word.
The Texas federal judge barred Microsoft from selling Word 2003 and other versions of the software that use technology patented by I4i. The judge upheld a verdict given by a jury on May 20, and also asked the software major to pay damages to the Canadian company.
MS was asked to pay US$200 million in damages to I4i and US$40 million as enhanced damages. I4i officials said that they felt vindicated by the result as they knew they were right. Microsoft, however, expressed disappointment at the ruling and said that it planned to appeal in a higher court.
The Texas federal judge barred Microsoft from selling Word 2003 and other versions of the software that use technology patented by I4i. The judge upheld a verdict given by a jury on May 20, and also asked the software major to pay damages to the Canadian company.
MS was asked to pay US$200 million in damages to I4i and US$40 million as enhanced damages. I4i officials said that they felt vindicated by the result as they knew they were right. Microsoft, however, expressed disappointment at the ruling and said that it planned to appeal in a higher court.
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