A San Diego federal jury ruled that computer giant Microsoft will pay Alcatel-Lucent, a telecommunications infrastructure maker, a settlement of $70 million for a patent infringement. The claim, first filed in 2003, involves a patent that was applied for by AT&T. The patent was for “a method of entering information into fields on a computer screen without using a keyboard.” Initially, Lucent had filed suits against Dell and Gateway for infringing on the copyright in 2003, but Microsoft intervened.
An earlier trial that included the same parties ruled that Microsoft was guilty of using the patent in their Windows Mobile, Outlook email software and Microsoft Money. That ruling could have cost Microsoft over $500 million, but the damages of the infringement were recalculated on an appeal and reduced. Microsoft’s deputy general counsel of litigation and corporate vice president David Howard said they will be reviewing the verdict and considering what their next steps will be.
This case was not the first court battle between Microsoft and Alcatel. In fact, they have had a long series of legal battles. In 2003, Dell and Gateway were Alcatel targets for the use of MP3 technologies. Microsoft also intervened in that case and was victorious. Microsoft lost a battle with the U.S.
International Trade Commission over an infringement complaint that Alcatel filed over technology that is used to affiliate and identify users on a telephone network. In yet a third case, in 2008, which involved digital speech compression, the court handed down a mixed ruling.
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