Microsoft loses again in Word patent case

Microsoft has also been unable to successfully defend itself on appeal against the claim that the Custom XML functionality in Word and Office infringes i4i patents. The US Federal Court of Appeal upheld the 2009 verdict.

In 2007, the Canadian company i4i filed a lawsuit against Microsoft over the claim that it owned patents on technology to create so-called custom XML documents. According to i4i, Microsoft would infringe these patents with Word 2003 and Word 2007. In August 2009, the judge ruled in favor of i4i, with the outcome that Microsoft had to pay $290 million and Word was no longer allowed to sell in the US. Microsoft appealed the decision, but lost in December. The company from Redmond promised to remove the functionality from Word and Office, but nevertheless filed an appeal again.

On Wednesday, Microsoft also lost this appeal. The chairman of i4i, Loudon Owen, declared: “The appeals court upheld the decision of the lower court in its entirety. In addition, the court provided a detailed analysis of the finding that Microsoft has knowingly infringed i4i’s patents.”

There is still a slim chance that Microsoft will not have to pay the full amount of $290 million. The appeals court is still considering whether the request for a review of the judgment should be considered. In this request, Microsoft stated that the ruling conflicted with previous judgments and that the amount of compensation is ‘excessive’. However, such requests are granted only in exceptional cases.