Eolas Jury Verdict Over Microsoft Upheld By Judge

The saga of the Eolas patent infringement law suit against Microsoft continues (see E-TIPSâ„¢ Vol 2, No 11, November 6, 2003). A federal judge in Chicago on January 14, 2004 upheld the jury verdict for Eolas Technologies. Microsoft has 30 days within which to launch an appeal. Last year, Microsoft lost a patent infringement suit to Eolas Technologies for infringing the latter's US patent (serial no. 5,838,906) covering a technology for a browser deploying plug-in applications. The US Patent Office has since initiated a re-examination of the issued patent. Microsoft itself has begun to distribute versions of its flagship browser that it claims fall outside the Eolas patent. Microsoft has suggested design-around methodologies to other web software producers in a similar predicament. Although the court ordered Microsoft to stop distributing versions of its Web browser that make use of the allegedly infringing technology, the injunction has been put on hold until any appeal can be resolved. Microsoft has been ordered to pay more than $45 million USD in "prejudgment interest" if it launches the appeal. For another report on this subject, see: http://news.com.com/2100-1023_3-5141318.html?tag=macintouch. To examine the patent document mentioned above, see: US Patent No. 5,838,906. Summary by: Peter Wang