Microsoft loses in Eolas patent ruling

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Microsoft loses in Eolas patent ruling

Published: September 29, 2005, 12:19 PM PDT
By  <mailto:ina.fried@cnet.com?subject=FEEDBACK:Microsoft loses in Eolas
patent ruling> Ina Fried 
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

 
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Striking a blow to Microsoft, the U.S. Patent Office this week reaffirmed a
key Web-browsing patent that the software maker is accused of infringing. 


In a decision made public Wednesday, the patent office upheld the validity
of a
<http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2F164.195.100.11%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph
-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO1%26Sect2%3DHITOFF%26d%3DPALL%26p%3D1%26u%3D%2Fnetahtml
%2Fsrchnum.htm%26r%3D1%26f%3DG%26l%3D50%26s1%3D%275838906%27.WKU.%26OS%3DPN%
2F5838906%26RS%3DPN%2F5838906&siteId=3&oId=2100-1012-5885657&ontId=7343&lop=
nl.ex> patent held by the University of California and its Eolas Technology
spinoff. In 2003, a jury
<http://news.com.com/Microsoft+ordered+to+pay+521+million/2100-1012_3-506240
9.html?tag=nl> awarded more than $500 million in damages to the university
and Eolas, but an appeals court this year
<http://news.com.com/Appeals+court+revisits+Eolas+decision/2100-1032_3-55965
00.html?tag=nl> partially upheld Microsoft's appeal, saying the company
should be able to present evidence that
<http://news.com.com/Web+patent+critics+spotlight+old+technology/2100-1028_3
-5100693.html?tag=nl> similar inventions predated Eolas' patent application.


A University of California spokesman said Thursday that the patent office's
ruling essentially says that the earlier work should not invalidate the
Eolas patent. 

"It is the second time that the patent office has thoroughly vetted the
patent claim," UC spokesman Trey Davis said. "We're pleased that the ruling
confirms our position all along." 

Microsoft, meanwhile, expressed displeasure with the decision. 

"This is very disappointing news, but we remain committed to seeing this
case through to a successful resolution," a Microsoft representative said
Thursday. 

Eolas and the university filed suit against Microsoft in 1999, alleging that
the way Microsoft's Internet Explorer uses plug-ins and applets infringes on
an early-1990s patent.