Microsoft Can't Sell Word: Judge

A Texas district court judge has ruled in favor of a Canadian software company and issued an injunction barring Microsoft from selling copies of its Word program, which can read and write XML files, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. XML capability is central to Microsoft Word; i4i claims the company infringed on a patent. The ruling in east Texas, a hotbed of patent law, also awards i4i $290 million in damages.

“We are disappointed by the court's ruling,” a Microsoft spokesman says. “We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid. We will appeal the verdict.”