Ethiopian Review

Microsoft and i4i will face off in court next month over a judgment that ordered Microsoft to stop distribution of Word amidst patent violations.

Microsoft filed an appeal on Tuesday, arguing that stopping shipment of Word would cause it and its distributors irreparable harm. A judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit subsequently said that she will hear the appeal on September 23.

Also on Tuesday, the court granted Microsoft’s emergency motion to waive the requirement for Microsoft to post a bond against the judgment while the case is appealed.

Microsoft is now required to pay nothing until the appeal is resolved. If Microsoft loses, they have 15 days to pay up, according to the filing.

On Aug. 11, a District Court in Texas handed down a $290 million judgment against the software giant and ordered the company to remove Word from the market within 60 days because it violated a patent held by i4i.

The judgment is baseless, Microsoft argued in its appeal, for four reasons: Microsoft is likely to succeed on the merits because the district court committed legal errors; Microsoft will be irreparably injured by an injunction that has the potential to remove its flagship product from the market for months; i4i, whose main product is an add-on to Word, will not be injured by a stay pending appeal; and the public will face hardship if Word and Office are absent from the market for any period.

On the first point, Microsoft basically argued that i4i has not incurred any damages that could not be solved with a little cold, hard cash.

The company’s injuries are “a classic example of economic harm that is not irreparable because it could be compensated with money damages,” Microsoft wrote.

Since the release of Word 2003, i4i’s revenues have improved steadily; prior to the release, they were losing millions, Microsoft said.

In comparison, Microsoft will face irreparable damages if Word is pulled from store shelves, as will partners like Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Best Buy, the company said.

“Unless Microsoft is able to redesign Word and push that redesigned version through its entire distribution network by Oct. 10 … Microsoft and its distributors face the imminent possibility of a massive disruption in their sales,” according to the appeal.

Meanwhile, “i4i, whose main product is an add-on to Word, will not be injured by a stay pending appeal,” Microsoft argued. The appeal also expresses skepticism at i4i’s sense of urgency given the fact that they waited two years before seeking an injunction.

Finally, Microsoft pointed to the public. “Consumers and businesses who require new copies of Word and Office would be stranded without an alternative set of software,” the appeal argued.

Loudon Owen, chairman of i4i, was not convinced.

“We firmly believe that the U. S. District Court made the right decision on the merits of the case,” Owen said in a statement. “This is a vital case for inventors and entrepreneurial companies who, like i4i, are damaged by the willful infringement of their patents by competitors; particularly competitors as large and powerful as Microsoft.”

(By Chloe Albanesius | pcmag)

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