Supreme Court to review Microsoft patent appeal
C|Net | at | by Mike
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to wade into a patent case involving Microsoft and AT&T. The outcome could alter the scope of damages that software companies must hand over for infringing activity occurring abroad.
The justices issued the decision on Friday as part of a one-page list of orders. They offered no additional comment, except to note that Chief Justice John Roberts "took no part in the consideration or decision of this motion and this petition."
The case dates back to 2001, when AT&T sued Microsoft in federal court. The telephone company alleged that the speech codec software included in Windows loaded on computers infringed on one of its patents, which covered a "digital speech coder."