AfterDawn: News

Microsoft ordered to pay $106 million in patent case

Microsoft Corp. has been ordered to pay $106 million in damages to a communications company by a jury overseeing a patent infringement lawsuit. The jury found that the Redmond-based software giant had violated two patents held by communications company VirnetX Holding.

The ruling followed a trial lasting a week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Specifically, $71.75 million was awarded for violation of one of the patents, while $34 million was awarded for the other, bringing the total to $105.75 million.



Microsoft Corp. was disappointed with the ruling, and maintains that it does not violate any patents held by VirnetX Holding. The patents in question cover methods for establishing Virtual Private Networks (VPN).

Microsoft said that it plans to appeal the jury's verdict.

Written by: James Delahunty @ 17 Mar 2010 0:03

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• 3 comments

• bmlshane

  M$ is quite willing to take others to court to sue for infringement of it's patents, even if people come up with something similar using a different method. Now the shoe is on the other foot, and they don't like it. Also they lost cases in the European EU, about anti-competitive practices.
  

  warlock

  17.3.2010 10:22 #1

• ZippyDSM

  Bah that should be with a B for billion...........
  

  Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy!
  Ah modern gaming its like modern film only the watering down of fiction and characters is replaced with shallow and watered down mechanics, gimmicks and shiny-er "people".
  http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/

  17.3.2010 15:21 #2

• pmshah

  $ 106 million should have been just the punitive part. They should have been made to pay additional sum on per copy basis.
  
  I have a feeling that what may be debited in M$ books of accounts as lobbyist charges under whatever guise going to the judges are being misappropriated. How wonderful that in the Land of The Free lobbying - nice terminology for bribing - is legal.

  19.3.2010 10:01 #3