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A Courtroom Victory For Microsoft In Cellphone-Related Patent Suit

Posted by timothy on from the well-that's-the-court's-opinion-man dept.

Mark Wilson writes: Microsoft has been cleared of patent infringement by the US International Trade Commission. The case dates back to 2007 when InterDigital Inc claimed Microsoft infringed its patents, and there were calls for a ban on the import of handsets. InterDigital Inc has been battling in court for eight years, initially trying to claim royalties on phones made by Nokia, now transferred to Microsoft. As well as blocking the call for an import ban, the ITC stated that Microsoft did not infringe patents relating to the way mobiles make calls. In short Microsoft is in the clear and InterDigital's rights have not been violated.

14 comments

  1. Lawyers win! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unlike the cubbies!

  2. Not on the order of a Sophie's Choice, but... by rmdingler · · Score: 3, Insightful
    It's like some of our recent national election choices...

    Do you root for Microsoft or the patent troll?

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

    1. Re:Not on the order of a Sophie's Choice, but... by Gr8Apes · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Some things are pure evil - you always root against the patent troll.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    2. Re:Not on the order of a Sophie's Choice, but... by gnasher719 · · Score: 1

      In Google/Motorola vs. Microsoft, I surely didn't root for the patent troll, but for Microsoft.

    3. Re: Not on the order of a Sophie's Choice, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      MS International Trade Comission.

    4. Re:Not on the order of a Sophie's Choice, but... by Barbecue911 · · Score: 2

      Don't forget the infamous Apple vs. Microsoft copyright infringement case, Microsoft did us a world of good. Imagine where Gnome, KDE, Ubuntu, maybe even Android would be today if Apple had won: goodbye graphical user interface, hello smooth-talking HAL? But until the processing power caught up, the command prompt would rule.

  3. Justice prevails! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Good on you, Microsoft. Teach those patent trolls a lesson.

  4. Two patent trolls went to court.... by zwede · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Two patent trolls went to court and the bigger one defeated the smaller one.

    1. Re:Two patent trolls went to court.... by Calydor · · Score: 3, Insightful

      At least Microsoft produces stuff based on (a portion of) their patents.

      A patent troll owns a patent, produces nothing, and stifles production from other companies in hopes of getting money that way.

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    2. Re:Two patent trolls went to court.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You're forgetting the trolling Microsoft started long before this to gain a share of Android handset profits ...

    3. Re:Two patent trolls went to court.... by tomhath · · Score: 1

      they changed their business model to one of licensing their patented inventions,

      That's the definition of a patent troll.

    4. Re:Two patent trolls went to court.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Technically a patent troll is one that buys up patents to sit on and license, not invents patents themselves with a stable of engineers. True patent trolls don't need office space at all for the design / thinktank team. They just need lawyer's and businessmen and often just have a mailbox instead of offices. Although inventing and not pursuing the invention has a patent troll tint at least they are inventing even if they don't have the resources to manufacture. Maybe there should be a patent troll light or a partial patent troll option. The true troll just finds a bridge and squats (buying the patent) they don't design the bridge. MS is definitely not a troll in this case -- they sell the phones.

    5. Re:Two patent trolls went to court.... by abinayavijayaram · · Score: 1

      The Court, thankfully, didn't go quite as far as it could have gone in saying ... All because it insists that validity and infringement are two entirely separate issues. .... http://www.besanttechnologies....