Microsoft and HP claim patent and malware courtroom victories

Microsoft and HP have reached settlements in separate cases relating to patent infringement and malware distribution.

Microsoft said that it has reached a deal with Dominique Alexander Piatti and his company dotFree Group, a hosting firm accused of harbouring malware writers and botnet distributors.

The suit was initially filed against Piatti as part of Microsoft's takedown of the Kelihos botnet. DotFree Group was accused of knowingly allowing the botnet's controllers to use its servers for command and control operations.

Microsoft said that the settlement ends proceedings against the hosting firm without having to drop the charges against the 22 'John Doe' defendants accused of operating the botnet.

"Since the Kelihos takedown, we have been in talks with Mr. Piatti and dotFree Group and, after reviewing the evidence voluntarily provided by Mr. Piatti, we believe that neither he nor his business were involved in controlling the subdomains used to host the Kelihos botnet," wrote Microsoft digital crimes unit senior attorney Richard Domingues Boscovich in a blog post.

"Rather, the controllers of the Kelihos botnet leveraged the subdomain services offered by Mr. Piatti's cz.cc domain."

Meanwhile, HP claimed victory in a patent case involving the importation and sale of generic ink cartridges after a ruling by the US International Trade Commission (ITC).

The ITC said that United Microelectronics Corporation of Taiwan had violated HP patents by importing and selling cartridges through a US-based subsidiary.

"HP makes a tremendous investment in developing innovative products for our customers and is committed to pursuing action to protect these innovations and, by extension, the value we deliver to our customers," said HP imaging and printing group executive vice president Vyomesh Joshi.

"HP is pleased with the outcome on these matters and the ITC's enforcement of intellectual property rights."