Microsoft wins patent case, turns tables on hapless jerks
WinInfo | at | by Mike
Microsoft this week won a years-old patent infringement case involving technology it used to speed the boot time of Windows XP. Acceleration Software International Corp sued Microsoft for infringing on its 1999 patent in XP, and a loss could have cost the software giant up to $900 million. However, an east Texas jury found that Microsoft did not infringe on the patent. In fact, it also found that the patent was invalid because "it was obvious" (yes, seriously) and was pre-existing technology at the time of the patent grant in 1999. Now, a US District Court is actually considering a Microsoft allegation that Acceleration Software International illegally withheld information about the pre-existing technology when it filed its patent application. Nice little twist, that.