Digital Common Sense

Just caught this on NetworkWorld. Sure, it’s chump change to Microsoft and a bargain at twice the price, but it heralds an interesting time ahead as the other related suits are considered and Microsoft squeals for an appeal.

Jury orders Microsoft to pay Lucent-Alcatel $1.5B fine
By Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service, 02/22/07

Microsoft Corp. must pay US$1.5 billion in damages to Lucent-Alcatel SA for infringing on patents for MP3 encoding and decoding technology, a U.S. jury said Thursday.

Lucent-Alcatel, which was then Lucent Technologies, first filed suit in 2003 against Microsoft customers Dell Inc. and Gateway Computer Corp. for infringing on 15 patented technologies it said were being used in Microsoft’s Windows Media Player in its Windows client OS. Microsoft filed a countersuit in a U.S. District Court in San Diego against Lucent-Alcatel to discourage additional legal action against its customers.
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Technorati Tags: Mircosoft, Lucent Technologies, Lucent-Alcatel, patent infringement

Filed by Ken at 4:06 pm under Technology