Jury Dings Microsoft $388 Mln in Anti-Piracy Patent Infringement Case

A Rhode Island jury has found Microsoft violated anti-piracy technology patents held by Uniloc...to the tune of $388 million.

It’s not unusual for companies in the technology industry to be embroiled in any number of patent lawsuits, and some of the litigation can drag out for years as the highly complex procedures and negotiations play out. But every now and then a case goes to trial…and the technology giants don’t always come out the winner. Yesterday, a Rhode Island jury found Microsoft had violated a patent held by Uniloc that related to protecting programs against software piracy…and the jury was not pleased with Microsoft’s conduct in the matter, awarding Uniloc some $388 million, double the $194 million in estimated damages cited in the suit.

The case has been percolating through the courts since 2003, and once even went the other way: the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island had previously granted a summary judgement in Microsoft’s favor, but the decision was flatly overturned on appeal. The patent at issue involves registration systems that can be used to activate installed software products; at one point, Microsoft admitted that its systems used the same algorithms as Uniloc’s solutions, and the Appeals court rejected Microsoft’s alternative claim arguments.

Neither Microsoft nor Uniloc have commented on the ruling, but Microsoft is widely expected to appeal the decision.