Andre Yoskowitz
21 Jun 2008 21:49
A federal judge has denied Microsoft's appeal in one of five patent cases brought against it by Alcatel-Lucent and says the software giant will have to pay $511.6 million USD in damages and interest.
In April a jury awarded Lucent $357.7 million USD and Microsoft had asked the judge to reconsider the award. Judge Marilyn L. Huff denied that request however and increased the damages payable. She said the new amount accounts for "prejudgment interest to compensate for how long it took to resolve the matter."
"We are disappointed that Judge Huff denied our request for a new trial," said Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster, in an e-mailed statement. "We plan to appeal the rulings against us. We are confident that the damages award against Microsoft will not be sustained on appeal."
"We had always believed we had a strong case and are pleased that the judge agreed that the jury's thoughtful verdict was well reasoned and supported by the evidence presented during the more than monthlong trial on these two patents," said Alcatel-Lucent spokeswoman Mary Lou Ambrus in an e-mailed statement.
Alcatel-Lucent had filed five suits against Microsoft in 2003, over a plethora of different patents and has so far won most of the cases, with huge multi-million dollar damages awards as well.