Court grants stay on Microsoft Word injunction

Can continue selling Word in the US

The US Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit has granted a stay against injunction that would force Microsoft to stop selling its Word software.

The Redmond-based computer giant originally lost a patent infringement case brought by Toronto, Canada-based i4i concerning the reading of XML programming, which enables Word to read and write .XML, .DOCX, or DOCM files.

The court ruling was made on August 12, after a long-running dispute between i4i and Microsoft. It banned Microsoft from selling Word in the US and also ordered the company to pay $290m (£176m) in damages. The ban was due to come in to effect in October.

Following the ruling, Microsoft has filed a motion to halt the permanent injunction banning it from selling Word in the US.

However, i4i expressed confidence that the final judgement will favour them and said that it will file its responding brief with the court on September 8, 2009.

Loudon Owen, chairman of i4i, said: Defendant-Appellant Microsoft claims it may have to stop distributing Word and Office in the US market until it can redesign both products. Microsoft's scare tactics about the consequences of the injunction cannot shield it from the imminent review of the case by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeal on the September 23 appeal.

i4i is confident that the Final Judgment in favor of i4i, which included a finding of willful patent infringement by Microsoft and an injunction against Microsoft Word, was the correct decision and that i4i will prevail on the appeal, he said.

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