Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Microsoft to change the ground rules over how patent infringement is determined.
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Microsoft to change the ground rules over how patent infringement is determined.
On June 9, the Supreme Court upheld the nearly $300 million verdict in favor of Toronto-based i4i against Microsoft. The justices were unanimous in their decision, according to a Reuters report.
Here's a copy of the Court's verdict against Microsoft (PDF).
Microsoft was attempting to get the court to change what constitutes the proper legal standard for determining a patent’s validity. Microsoft and a number of companies backing its play — including Apple, Google, Intel, Verizon, a number of auto makers, drug companies and financial services companies — were in favor of the Court to make it easier for companies facing infringement suits to prove a patent is invalid.
The Supreme Court agreed in November 2010 to hear the case. News.com reported in April of this year on the arguments in court and provided a transcript of the Supreme Court hearing.
i4i Inc. sued Microsoft for infringement over a patent for custom XML. i4i won the case in the summer of 2009. In December 2009, Microsoft lost its appeal of the case, heard by an East Texas District Court, and was ordered to pay i4i more than $290 million and remove the custom XML technology from certain versions of Microsoft Word.
Microsoft officials said they'd have a statement on today's loss coming soon. Update: And here it is from a company spokesperson:
“This case raised an important issue of law which the Supreme Court itself had questioned in an earlier decision and which we believed needed resolution. While the outcome is not what we had hoped for, we will continue to advocate for changes to the law that will prevent abuse of the patent system and protect inventors who hold patents representing true innovation.“
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Talkback
While I hate Microsoft
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
Hmmmm....are you sure?
But hey, exchanges like this demonstrate that the ZDNet talkbacks sometimes serve as a kind of goofball social networking tool rather than as a way to exchange real information.
I agree, BUT
maybe correct English would be: The BAD patent system needs reform. ;-)
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
I understand your comment. My thought is the OP was using 'badly' the same as when someone says "I feel badly". That means it is physical thing, maybe with their hands, not their emotions. So, I read the OP using 'badly' in the incorrect context. Thus, when one feels badly it is a physical thing they cannot do well.
@Economister
You may be most correct of us all.
Thank you both for your comments.
ZDNet: Fix you damned comment system
"... the same as when someone says "I feel badly". That means it is physical thing, maybe with their hands, not their emotions."
FYI, that is not the distinction here. In "I feel badly," "feel" is operating as a copula, and therefore can NOT have an adverb. Similarly, the proper answer to "How are you doing?" is "I'm doing good," or some such.
FTR, the OP was correct.
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
"Maybe you should have stopped at "The patent system needs reform" perhaps" is redundant and improper.
One should not start a sentence with "maybe", then end it with "perhaps"... they mean exactly the same thing.
Checkmate!
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
Funny, this wouldn't be the first time I disagree with you. However, it would be the first time we switch sides on an issue. I do agree the patent system needs reform. However, the custom XML patent violation, in my opinion, isn't one of those frivilous lawsuits. i4i had created an add in to Word that allowed you to create custom XML documents that would allow you to integrate your business processes. To protect their revenues from Microsoft, they went to the patent office and was granted a patent for an idea that was unique at the time. Microsoft created the same functionality in Word and it was released in Office 2007 as a base feature (i.e. for free). This violated i4i' patent and caused considerable harm to their business. Microsoft should just pay the settlement and leave it alone.
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
You can't have it both ways?? Either patents are friviously or they are not. It has been my opinion that the holder of the patent should be given lattitude, since they created the thing patented. But some linux people ssaid that should not be so, because it gives microsoft too much lattitude. Which is it???
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
Is the i4i idea something that another company or person would have not come have been able to come up with in a timely manner? Would i4i not have bothered to create their idea if they could not patent it?
I'm very skeptical of software patents because good software is going to be created whether or not a patent system exists. Instead, what we're currently stuck with is a patent minefield that keeps companies and people from developing new ideas for fear of infringement.
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
"You can't have it both ways?? Either patents are friviously or they are not."
Nonsense. There is definitely a difference between someone who thinks of something, runs down to the patent office and patents it...and then wait to sue someone, and someone who actually creates the product, markets, sells and builds their business around it.
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
All this from the same company (MS) that bankrolled....
...the fake patent/copyright attack against Linux?
Small world!
Except they didn't
Microsoft bought a Unix licence from Sco. So did Sun Microsystems, amongst others. Microsoft later recommended Sco to a private equity firm called BayStar, who, along with Royal Bank of Canada, ended up investing in Sco. The money that BayStar and RBC invested, however, was their own, not Microsoft's.
BayStar and RBC apparently thought Sco had a case, and they certainly weren't alone in that. What killed Sco's case was the fact that, contrary to their claims, they didn't actually own the Unix source code copyrights (or the Unix patents), so it was all rubbish from start to finish. That only came out later, however, and if BayStar/RBC had known it at the time, it's unlikely they'd have invested in Sco in the first place.
Obviously both Microsoft and Sun had ulterior motives in agreeing to buy Unix licences from Sco, and both would have benefited if Sco's claims had been valid. That may even be why they agreed to buy Unix licences from Sco (instead of fighting, as IBM did). In any case, the matter has been investigated, and it's clear that Caldera/Sco were acting on their own, and weren't puppets of Microsoft (or Sun). There was no conspiracy (except in the minds of the aluminium foil deflector beanie brigade).
WilErz: MS and SCO
BTW: I've never worn a tinfoil hat.
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infring
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
What do you expect from political appointees who never can be fired.
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
Amen to that!!!
At least if they were elected...
...they might be persuaded to do favors for large campaign contributors.
RE: Supreme Court rules against Microsoft's attempt to alter patent-infringement rules
[i]What do you expect from political appointees who never can be fired.[/i]
Agreed. This would have turned out very different if justice could have been bought like legislation is.
:)