September 7, 2009

Court Appeal Upheld for Microsoft Word

The U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Microsoft to continue its sales of Microsoft Word. The court granted a stay against an injunction by Canadian based company i4i, which stated Microsoft infringed on its patents by using custom XML in both Word 2003 and Word 2007.

As Waves of Tech reported on 12 August (Posting) Judge Leonard Davis of the U.S. District Court in Texas, ruled Microsoft infringed on i4i’s patent. Judge Davis fined Microsoft $280 million and granted an injunction that would have stopped Microsoft from selling Word 2003 and Word 2007 after Oct. 10.

Microsoft’s motion stated “Taking Word off store shelves and away from partners and customers would cause irreparable harm”. The appeals-court ruling will allow Microsoft Word sales to continue while the case is appealed i4i chairman Loudon Owen released the following statement “Microsoft’s appeal brief is an extraordinary document. It captures the hostile attitude of Microsoft toward inventors who dare to enforce patents against them. It is also blatantly derogatory about the Court system. We do not have the gargantuan financial resources of Microsoft, but i4i has the protection of fairness under the U.S. justice system. Microsoft is not above the law. It cannot privately expropriate i4i’s patented invention.”