I4i, a Toronto-based software maker, has been battling Microsoft over an obscure patent related to XML or Extensible Markup Language. XML is a key software component of many websites as well as Word and other programmes. Upholding a a May 20 jury decision Tuesday, Leonard Davis, a federal district court judge in Tyler, Texas, banned the world’s largest software from selling Word 2003 , WWord 2007 and future versions of the software that use i4i’s technology without a licence.
The judge also ordered Microsoft to pay several hefty fines to i4i, including $200 million in damages and $40 million in “enhanced damages.”
Published 13 August 2009, 15:22 IST