Microsoft loses patent appeal, offices everywhere groan

A couple of months ago, the tech community got wind of a patent infringement allegation from a Toronto based company i4i against Microsoft. The basic accusations consisted Microsoft Word’s handling of .xml, .docx, and .docm files were infringing upon a certain XML handling algorithm i4i had patented. However, the buzz died within a few minutes of the story being released.

However, that fire has been lit again as Microsoft has lost its appeal case against i4i. And with the date of January 11 being the day that all software containing Word be yanked off the sales list, Microsoft must be getting a bit anxious to deal with the guys over at i4i.

The costly, fast way out would be paying the $290 million in damages to i4i and be done with it. But there most likely be another appeal to a greater court and another legal process. Most industry experts do agree, however, that the most likely outcome of this whole deal will be a settlement between Micorosoft and i4i in which a royalty will be paid to keep Word on the shelves.

Read [Yahoo! News and Engadget]