No reprieve for Microsoft in i4i patent dispute

Microsoft was fined $240m for patent infringements in Word

The US Federal Court of Appeals has frustrated Microsoft once again by upholding the decision of a district court last year to ban the software giant from selling certain editions of its Word software which infringe the patents of Canadian firm i4i.

Microsoft was hit with the ban and a $240m (£160m) fine after a Texas district court jury ruled that it had infringed patents relating to i4i's XML authoring software.

The software giant complied after losing its first appeal by removing the offending technology from Word 2007 early in January.

However, Microsoft decided to re-appeal based on the "dangerous precedent" it believed the ruling may have set.

"The petition details significant conflicts we believe the 22 December decision creates with established precedents governing trial procedure and the determination of damages, and we are concerned that the decision weakens judges' authority to apply appropriate safeguards in future patent trials," wrote Kevin Kutz, director of public policy at Microsoft, in a blog posting at the time.

However, in a ruling yesterday the US Court of Appeals came down in favour of i4i once again, adding further explanation of why it believes Microsoft " wilfully" infringed the patent.

"There is no evidence that Microsoft ever made a good faith effort to avoid infringement. Internal emails show that Microsoft intended to render i4i's product 'obsolete' and [to ensure] that 'there won't be a need for [i4i's] product'," the judges wrote.

"The district court's claim construction is affirmed, as are the jury's findings of infringement and validity."

The panel of judges will now share the document with the rest of the judges on the appeal court, who will decide whether to take up Microsoft's request for an en banc review.