Text 10893, 55 rader
Skriven 2006-04-29 21:12:28 av Mike '/m' (1:379/45)
  Kommentar till text 10892 av Geo (1:379/45)
Ärende: Re: Hoisted by their own petard?
========================================
From: Mike '/m' <mike@barkto.com>


Looks like another entry here
http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20041228040645419

  /m


On Sat, 29 Apr 2006 20:39:55 -0400, "Geo" <georger@nls.net> wrote:

>Microsoft and Autodesk infringed patents, jury rules
>z4 Technologies awarded $133m
>By OUT-LAW.COM
>
>Published Friday 21st April 2006 09:13 GMT
>
>An entrepreneur has been awarded $133m by a jury in a Texas courtroom after
>winning his claim that two of his anti-piracy software patents were
>infringed by Microsoft's Office and Windows XP, and Autodesk's AutoCAD
>programs.
>
>David Colvin is founder of z4 Technologies Inc, a digital rights management
>company based in "Automation Alley", the high-tech centre of Michigan. The
>company exists to prevent infringement - and on a page of its website
>includes quotes from both Microsoft and Autodesk about the pest of piracy.
>
>Colvin obtained patents for methods of assigning passwords and codes to
>individual copies of software to prevent unauthorised use. This week,
>Microsoft was ordered to pay him $115m and Autodesk $18m. The impact on
>their respective products is unknown.
>
>Microsoft spokesperson Rachel Wayne told OUT-LAW.COM: "While we are
>disappointed with this verdict, we continue to contend that there was no
>infringement of any kind and that the facts in this case show that Microsoft
>developed its own product activation technologies well before z4
>Technologies filed for its patent.
>
>"We will await resolution of all issues by the trial court before we make
>any decisions."
>
>According to Reuters, Microsoft awaits the court's decision on another
>point: whether z4 Technologies knowingly withheld information from the US
>Patent and Trademark Office about other companies' product activation
>technologies when submitting its patent applications.
>
>In a separate decision earlier this week, a federal appeals court ruled that
>customers who bought computers with Microsoft's software preinstalled, or
>who bought its programs through a reseller, can't sue the Redmond company
>for anti-trust violations. Twenty-six plaintiffs were seeking up to $10bn in
>damages, but lost because they were indirect purchasers.
>

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