i4i Claims that Microsoft Violated a Patent

I handle business litigation and disputes in and around Louisville, Kentucky for small businesses–I represent the little guy and I always root for the little guy taking on the big guy.  And here is a case where you can really root for the little guy.  

In a David v Goliath showdown, it appears round one goes to David.  In what has become a very interesting intellectual property dispute, tiny software manufacturer Toronto-based i4i, which has 30 employees, claims that Microsoft violated an obscure patent related to Extensible Markup Language or XML. It’s a key software component of many websites and 
computer programs, including Word.  

Tuesday, Texas Federal District Court Judge Leonard Davis agreed with i4i and entered an order fining the software giant Microsoft $290 million and ordering them to stop selling Word in the United States.
Judge Davis’ ruling came following a jury verdict that found that Microsoft had infringed on i4i’s 1998 patent.  The jury awarded $200 million and Judge Leonard Judge Davis ruled that Microsoft should pay i4i an additional $40 million for its willful infringement of the i4i patent. Microsoft also was ordered to pay slightly more than $37 million in prejudgment interest, including an additional $21,102 per day until a final judgment is reached in the case. The court also ordered Microsoft to pay $144,060 per day until the date of final judgment for post-verdict damages.

i4i was represented by the national business litigation firm McKool Smith.  

hans