Microsoft Given Stay On Word Injunction - Can Sell Product During Busy Back To School Season

On August 12th a court in Texas ruled that Microsoft had infringed upon the patent of I4i, a small Toronto company, and ordered the software giant to pay $290m in damages and to stop sales of the relevant versions of Word. Microsoft then quickly filed a request to stay the injunction and asked that the courts put the appeal on a fast track so it could be heard quickly. The US court has agreed that Microsoft had met the conditions needed to grant the stay.

"We are happy with the result and look forward to presenting our arguments on the main issues on September 23," said Kevin Kutz, a Microsoft spokesman, in a statement.

Source: BBC

Canadian Company Wins Patent Infringement Suit Against Microsoft

A U.S. judge has given Microsoft 60 days to comply with an injunction verdict, brought down by an earlier court, that said that the company had willfully infringed on a patent belonging to i4i LP of Toronto, the judge has awarded i4i about $290-million (U.S.) in damages. The injunction also bans Microsoft from selling, in the U.S., copies of Word 2003, Word 2007 and future versions of the office software that use i4i's technology without a licence.

“We feel vindicated with this result,” said Michel Vulpe, founder of privately held i4i and an inventor of the disputed patent. “We did not go into business to litigate, we build products that serve our customers' needs.”

Microsoft says it will appeal the decision.

Source: Globe and Mail