August 12, 2009
In a shockwave likely to be felt in Redmond, Washington, a U.S.
District court has ruled that Microsoft infringed on a patent when it
developed its popular Word software and has blocked Microsoft from
further sales of the ubiquitous word processor.
The judge also fined Microsoft $290 million.
The ruling is likely to be appealed, but so far Microsoft has not commented on the judgment. The court found that the software giant infringed on a parent held by i4i, a Canadian company. Judge Leonard Davis ruled that Microsoft cannot sell Microsoft Word 2003, Word 2007, or future versions that might infringe upon the patent.
Microsoft was ordered to comply within 60 days.
Besides appealing, Microsoft could possibly respond with a patch. PC Magazine notes the issue narrowly focuses on Word's ability to open certain types of files. If Microsoft modifies Word so that it changes the way it opens the files in question, there would be no infringement.
"We are very pleased with the terms of the Final Judgment," said Michel Vulpe, founder of i4i, in a statement. " We feel vindicated with this result."
The first version of Microsoft Word was released in 1983, under a different name. Versions have been written for Windows, Macintosh, DOS, SCO UNIX, and OS/2. It's a component of the Microsoft Office Suite and is currently branded as Microsoft Office Word.
