Judge reverses $1.5 billion Microsoft patent decision

A judge has reversed a previous court decision that Microsoft had infringed patents held by Alcatel-Lucent.

As well as reversing the decision, US District Judge Rudi Brewster has thrown out a record $1.5 billion damages verdict against the world's largest software maker.

Brewster said in a 43-page order that the jury's damages could not stand because Microsoft had not violated one of the two patents related to MP3 digital audio technology at the heart of the case.

The judge also called into question the second patent claim in the case and said a new trial may be needed to determine the ownership of that patent.

Microsoft has claimed that it had already licensed the MP3 technology in question from German research body Fraunhofer Gesellschaft for $16 million.

Microsoft and Alcatel-Lucent are locked in a number of patent disputes including a suit over the video-decoding technology in Microsoft's Xbox 360 consumer game consoles.

Alcatel-Lucent spokeswoman Mary Ward said the reversal was "shocking and disturbing" and the company planned to appeal the latest decision. Microsoft said it plans to issue a statement shortly about the decision.

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