Microsoft Ordered to Pay $388 Million in Lost Patent Case

Uniloc Inc., founded in 2003 and headquartered in Irvine, California, won its patent law dispute after six years of legal skirmishes and a trial starting in March, in a federal court in Rhode Island. Microsoft was ordered to pay $388 million in damages, since the jury found that Microsoft "infringed Uniloc's patent on software that generates unique identities for licensed users and prevents unauthorized use or copying of programs."

"Uniloc USA and its Singapore-based parent originally filed suit against Microsoft in 2003, claiming that Microsoft infringed its patent with security software it was using to prevent unlicensed use of its Windows XP operating system and parts of its Office suite of products. (...) The damages award is one of the largest on record in patent law disputes."

Microsoft responded by saying that they will appeal the verdict: "We believe that we do not infringe, that the patent is invalid and that this award of damages is legally and factually unsupported," said a Microsoft spokesman. "We will ask the court to overturn the verdict."