James Delahunty
23 Sep 2009 19:57
Appeals court judges have called the $290 million damages awarded to i4i in a patent infringement lawsuit against Microsoft. i4i had originally won its case against Microsoft, which resulted in $290 million damages to be paid by Microsoft and an injunction against the sale of Microsoft's Word 2003 and Word 2007 applications.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stayed that injunction earlier this month. Judge Kimberly Moore of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit took issue with the calculation of the damages; specifically that it assumed that users who bought a $90 version of the software from Microsoft would have paid considerably higher to pay for an alternative.
"Not everyone who is willing to pay $90 or $200 for a product is willing to pay $500," she said. The grilling wasn't just for i4i's side however, as Judge Alvin Schall pressed Microsoft's representatives on a claim that there is "no direct evidence" that anyone at Microsoft actually read the patent in question.
"I find it hard to believe that Microsoft didn't read the patent," the Judge said. i4i claims it approached Microsoft in 2000 for licensing negotiations, and that the two companies made joint presentations but never reached an agreement. Microsoft has acknowledged being in contact with i4i about the XML patent, but it has asked the appeals court to overturn the lower court's decision.