Microsoft ordered to stop selling Word

A federal court in Texas has ordered Microsoft to stop selling Microsoft Word.

Judge Leonard Davis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, ruled yesterday in favor of Toronto-based i4i, stating that Microsoft unlawfully infringed the Canadian company’s patent.

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Court ruling puts brakes on sales of Microsoft Word

At a jury trial that began on May 11, representatives for i4i said that Microsoft’s use of Word 2007 for processing XML documents with custom XML elements “willfully” infringed i4i’s Patent 449.

The ruling prohibits Microsoft from selling or importing to the U.S. any Word products that have the capability of opening XML, .DOCX or DOCM files that contain custom XML.

The ruling is set to go into effect in 60 days. The judge has also granted an award and damages of $290 million to i4i.

“We are disappointed by the court’s ruling,” said Kevin Kutz, a Microsoft spokesman. “We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid. We will appeal the verdict.”