Sales ban on MsWord and Office

After Microsoft’s last effort failing to make any go ahead with the US court, some versions of the company’s flagship programs are facing the court’s ban. Microsoft Word and Office are facing this ban after Canadian software firm, i4i, filled a case against Microsoft over alleged infringement of patents. While Microsoft has already challenged the original ruling, it was made to change some elements of its programs by a US court. The company in a statement said, “This process will be imperceptible to the vast majority of customers.”

The court has already denied the company an appeal on injunction in December last year. After that Microsoft had agreed to make the necessary changes in Word and Office before the January 11 deadline. It would then be selling the revised version in the US.

The Toronto based company, i4i, has already won a case wherein Microsoft was supposed to pay a fine of $200 million to the company for using the customized XML codes. However, because of the international nature of the patent the figure has already reached $290 million as part of the fine.

Microsoft, which still has the right to appeal in the Supreme Court, wants a panel of 11 judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to review the whole matter. The company is hoping that this would bring the judgment in favor.
A panel of three judges have already seen the case and given their judgment.

Answering to the questions as to why the company wants to re-appeal, Kevin Kutz, Director, Public Affairs at Microsoft, said that it has been done since the company believed that the December appeal conflicted with established precedents governing trial procedure and the determination of damages. “We are concerned that the decision weakens judges' authority to apply appropriate safeguards in future patent trials,” he added.