Microsoft Dodges $419 Mln Alcatel Suit

A jury has found that Microsoft's Xbox 360 doesn't violate an Alcatel-Lucent patent - and Microsoft doesn't have to pay $419 million in damages.

A jury in a San Diego federal court has ruled that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game console did not violate a patent owned by Alcatel-Lucent SA. The jury also rejected the Paris-based company’s bid for $419 million in damages. The parent in question dates back to 1993 and covers encoding video frames. The jury also found that another Microsoft patent involved in the case was invalid since it didn’t cover a new invention, and that Alcatel did not violate four other Microsoft patents, for which Microsoft was seeking $9.5 million in damages.

The finding is just the latest in a series of patent disputes between the two companies; in April of this year, a jury ruled Alcatel was entitled to $367.4 million in damages after Microsoft violated two patents related to date entry and handwriting recognition; in 2007, Microsoft was ordered to pay $1.52 billion to Alcatel for violating two patents related to MP3 compression technology. U.S. district judge Rudi Brewster set aside that verdict, however, and Microsoft is now appealing the decision.

The San Diego court is slated to hear two more patent infringement cases between the two companies.