Microsoft Loses $290 Million in Patent Battle Fail

Microsoft pays for old version of Word's XML.

The Supreme Court decided that Microsoft would have to pay the $290 million charge that a jury deemed suitable for a patent infringement against Toronto-based software company i4i.

A jury verdict already awarded over $200 million to i4i over Microsoft's infringement of an XML technology that the software giant used in its previous versions of Microsoft Word.

Microsoft has appealed the decision up the legal system, but now the word from the Supreme Court means that i4i can finally celebrate.

Michel Vulpe, i4i's founder and chief technology officer, commented on the Court's unanimous decision, "We're very pleased that the court did the right thing."

Loudon Owen, i4i's chairman, said in a statement, "This is one of the most significant business cases the court has decided in decades."

Microsoft actually pushed for the courts for a new standard in patent matters. According to Reuters, the Congress-accepted standard is that the defendant in a patent infringement case must "prove by clear and convincing evidence that a plaintiff's patent is invalid." Microsoft, on the other hand, wanted a "lower standard of proof involving a 'preponderance of the evidence' would make some 'bad' patents easier to invalidate while promoting innovation and competition."