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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend April 21, 2006 Microsoft, Autodesk must pay in patent case By MATT SLAGLE The Associated Press DALLAS — A federal jury in East Texas returned a $133 million verdict against Microsoft Corp. and Autodesk Inc. for infringing on two software patents owned by a Michigan technology company. The lawsuit, filed in 2004 by z4 Technologies of Commerce Township, Mich., claimed Microsoft and Autodesk used two z4 patents in their Office and AutoCad software programs without paying royalty fees. After deliberating for 19 consecutive hours, jurors agreed Wednesday, ordering Microsoft to pay $115 million and San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk $18 million. The patents were created and owned by David Colvin, owner of privately held z4. U.S. patent 6,044,471 refers to a method and apparatus for securing software to reduce unauthorized use, while patent 6,785,825 involves a method for securing software to decrease software piracy. Autodesk and Microsoft had argued during the six-day trial in federal district court in Tyler that the patents were invalid. But the jury said Autodesk and Microsoft were never able to clearly show that was the case. Advertisement A Microsoft spokeswoman said the company was disappointed in the jury's decision, which could be appealed. Separately, Microsoft is appealing a $521 million judgment in a case involving patents owned by Eolas Technologies Inc. and the University of California. "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," Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans wrote in an e-mail. Evans said Microsoft believes z4 knowingly withheld information from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office when the patents were submitted and is waiting for the court to rule on the issue. Ernie Brooks, lead attorney for z4, declined to comment on the verdict. Caroline Kawashima, a spokeswoman for Autodesk, said her company still believes there was no infringement but will wait for other legal issues to be settled before deciding its next step Jurors began deliberating about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday and continued through the night before returning a verdict at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday. Companies often file patent cases in federal courts in East Texas because they are known for handling patent cases quickly. Last week, a federal jury in nearby Marshall, Texas, awarded TiVo Inc. nearly $74 million after deciding that EchoStar Communication Corp. had copied key technologies from the digital video recording pioneer. Shares of Microsoft fell 19 cents to $27.03 and Autodesk stock dropped 31 cents to 43.31 in the close of trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Xq BC-Microsoft-IBM,0288 U.S. court quashes Microsoft bid for IBM documents in EU case BRUSSELS Dow Jones/AP — A U.S. court in New York on Thursday quashed a Microsoft Corp. subpoena for International Business Machines Corp.'s documents related to the software company's European anti-trust case. Judge Colleen McMahon said Microsoft's subpoena amounted to a "blatant end run" on the European Commission's authority. The judge said that the Brussels-based regulator strongly opposed Microsoft's request, and that enforcing such a subpoena could harm U.S. sovereignty if a foreign court were used to obtain documents in a U.S. proceeding. Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft says the commission is colluding with Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM and other rivals, and denying the company a fair chance to review key evidence. The regulator has refused to give Microsoft access to some documents, citing confidentiality concerns and rivals' "fear of retaliation," according to a Boston court ruling earlier this week in which a judge quashed a similar Microsoft request for documents held by Novell Inc. Last month, a U.S. federal court in California rejected Microsoft's request for documents from Oracle Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. Microsoft appealed that decision, but then withdrew the appeal following the New York court's ruling. "The writing is clearly on the wall for these actions, and we will not be pursuing them any further," Microsoft spokesman Tom Brookes said. The four competitors named in the U.S. subpoenas have supported European regulators' finding that Microsoft isn't doing enough to comply with a March 2004 antitrust decision. In that ruling, the European Commission fined Microsoft a record 497 million euros $614 million and ordered it to help rivals make their software products mesh with servers running the ubiquitous Windows operating system. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisements Advertisement