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Microsoft - the biter bit

Microsoft has been ordered to pay US$388 million (£259m) in damages after a US jury found the company guilty of infringing a patent for technology meant to deter software piracy. The bill for infringing software patent Microsoft earned billions of dollars by using the technology in its Windows XP. The Singapore-based company Uniloc sued Microsoft in 2003, alleging it copied software designed by the company's founder Ric Richardson. The company alleged Microsoft earned billions of dollars by using the technology in its Windows XP and Office programs.

Last week, a jury in America found Microsoft violated the patent and directed the software giant to pay Uniloc $US388 million. The sum is the fifth-largest patent jury award in US history but the company is awaiting a final decision by the judge, who could increase the award three times.

The jurors found that Microsoft "wilfully and intentionally" infringed Uniloc's patent for a software registrations system that allows software makers to create try-before-you-buy versions of their work.

But why use Microsoft products at all? You can probably get all the software you need free of charge from OpenSuse. A good case of the biter bit. Read full article here

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