US/Canada (ip-192.com): A Canadian company accuses that Microsoft "willingly violated" a patent granted in 1998 concerning methods for reading XML, a programming language. A Texan court has granted i4i, a company based in Toronto/Canada, an injunction against Microsoft, ordering the software giant to stop selling copies of its word-processing software Word.
The legal dispute centers on the way Microsoft Word handles certain kinds of documents. XML allows users to customize the format of word-processing documents, enabling them to be read by various word-processing programs. Microsoft Word's ability to read and write XML documents is a crucial feature of the software, that’s usually sold as part of the Microsoft Office program.
Judge Leonard Davis, of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, ruled that Microsoft had infringed i4i's patent, and ordered the software giant to pay $290 million in damages. This included $40 million for the willful infringement of the patent, $37 million in pre-judgment interest, and a further $21,102 per day until a final judgment is reached.
Davis also granted an injunction banning Microsoft from selling Microsoft Word in the United States, or importing the software in to the country. The ruling covers all Microsoft Word products that can open XML files or DOCX and DOCM documents. Microsoft has been given 60 days to comply with the injunction.
Microsoft said it would appeal against the verdict. "We are disappointed by the court's ruling," said Kevin Kutz, a spokesman for the software giant. "We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid."
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