Judge orders Microsoft to stop selling Word

[Why Syzygy]

Whaaa? :wow:

SEATTLE — The Canadian tech company that won a federal district court injunction ordering Microsoft to stop selling Word in the U.S. is digging its heels in for a David vs. Goliath showdown.

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 programs.

Judge Leonard Davis ruled Tuesday in favor of i4i, and ordered Microsoft to cease Word sales in 60 days. He also ordered the world's largest software maker to pay several hefty fines to i4i, including $200 million in damages and $40 million in "enhanced damages.

"It's not a question of fear or pride or anything else," says Loudon Owen, chairman of i4i. "We're very respectful of Microsoft, but when you're in the right you have to persevere."

Microsoft plans to appeal. "We are disappointed by the court's ruling," spokesman Kevin Kutz said in a written statement. " We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid."
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The suit involves a patent i4i's founders obtained in 1998 that is the basis for a "customized XML" tool the company supplies to drug and defense companies and other large corporations, Owen says.

XML is a specialized alphabet that can capture any kind of computer file as a regular text. It's designed to make computer data human-readable — and make it easier for one program to load and process data created by another program. (...)

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-08-12-microsoft-lawsuit_N.htm