Federal appeals court rules against Microsoft in Word patent infringement suit News
Federal appeals court rules against Microsoft in Word patent infringement suit

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit [official website] on Tuesday affirmed [opinion, PDF] a lower court ruling [JURIST report] that Microsoft [corporate website; JURIST news archive] infringed on a patent of Canadian company i4i [corporate website] with portions of its Word 2007 word-processing software. i4i alleged that Microsoft willfully infringed on patents it held on XML technology, which was used extensively in Microsoft Word 2007. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas [official website] had ordered Microsoft to stop selling its Microsoft Word 2007 software, which contains patent infringing code, and to pay i4i $290 million in damages, but the injunction was stayed [JURIST report] while the appeals court reviewed the case. Microsoft said in a statement [press release] that it was already making plans to cooperate with the ruling:

With respect to Microsoft Word 2007 and Microsoft Office 2007, we have been preparing for this possibility since the District Court issued its injunction in August 2009 and have put the wheels in motion to remove this little-used feature from these products. Therefore, we expect to have copies of Microsoft Word 2007 and Office 2007, with this feature removed, available for U.S. sale and distribution by the injunction date. In addition, the beta versions of Microsoft Word 2010 and Microsoft Office 2010, which are available now for downloading, do not contain the technology covered by the injunction.

Microsoft plans to alter Microsoft Word 2007 to remove the infringing elements by the January 11 deadline so that sales are not interrupted.

Aside from the patent issues, Microsoft has faced numerous legal challenges based on antitrust and unfair competition allegations. Earlier this month, Microsoft settled [JURIST report] an EU antitrust suit, agreeing to allow European Windows users to switch to an alternative Internet browser beginning next year. In September, a South Korean court found Microsoft in violation [JURIST report] of antitrust laws for bundling software programs with its Windows operating system. The same court previously ruled in June that Microsoft violated antitrust laws [JURIST report], but dismissed the plaintiff's claims because they were not sufficiently linked to Microsoft's conduct.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Fyodor Dostoevsky sentenced to death

Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky was sentenced to death on November 16, 1849 over his involvement in the progressive Petrashevsky Circle of intellectuals. Dostoevsky and his codefendants were scheduled to be executed on December 22 of that year, but their execution was stayed by Tsar Nicholas I after the execution ritual had been carried out. Dostoevsky was sent to Siberia instead to serve a four-year sentence. Learn more about the mock execution of Dostoevsky.

Canada executed Metis leader for treason

On November 16, 1885, the Canadian government executed Metis leader Louis Riel for high treason in the wake of the "Northwest Rebellion" that had pitted the Metis (descendants of French traders and native tribes) in what is now Saskatchewan against Canadian troops. Although Riel has lately been rehabilitated as an Indigenous francophone patriot of the Canadian West, his trial and execution remain sore points between English and French Canada.

US President Nixon signs Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act

On November 16, 1973, US President Richard Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act into law. In addition to creating an oil pipeline across the state, the Act also quashed all environmental-legal challenges regarding its construction.