SOFTWARE giant Microsoft has been ordered to pay $US388 million ($547.9 million) for infringing an anti-piracy software patent.
After a long-running legal battle, a US grand jury said Microsoft - a company known for its tough stance on piracy - had "wilfully infringed" the patent.
Both Windows and Office use a "product activation" system that was allegedly taken from Uniloc, a company that makes anti-piracy tools for video games and other software.
This system requires user registration to prevent the same copy of software being installed on several computers.
Uniloc started the legal battle against Microsoft in 2003, 11 years after it patented a similar technology.
Microsoft says it will appeal the US grand jury's decision.
"We are very disappointed in the jury verdict," said David Bowermaster, a Microsoft spokesman.
"We believe that we do not infringe, that the patent is invalid and that this award of damages is legally and factually unsupported," he said. "We will ask the court to overturn the verdict."
News taken from
http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25312670-5014239,00.html
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