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Microsoft hit with £777m fine for breaching patents

26/02/2007 - A US Federal court has ruled that Microsoft must pay Alcatel-Lucent £777m ($1.52bn) for infringing audio patents. The French phone equipment company sued the software giant for breaching two patents that cover the technology for converting audio into MP3 files.
A spokeswoman for Alcatel-Lucent said that the company was pleased that the court had agreed with the "strong arguments" that the company had put to the court. Microsoft claimed that it had already obtained a license for MP3 technology after it paid $16m to German firm Fraunhofer.

Tom Burt a lawyer for Microsoft advised that the company may appeal against the court's decision and was concerned that the ruling may set a precedent. "We are concerned that this decision opens the door for Alcatel-Lucent to pursue action against hundreds of other companies who purchased the rights to use MP3 technology from Fraunhofer, the industry-recognised rightful licensor," he said.

Microsoft face further court battles with Alcatel as they are taking over Lucent Technologies, a US based company. Currently Lucent has a further five patent disputes with Microsoft heading to court.

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<a href="http://www.pulsewebhosting.com/news/microsoft-hit-with-£777m-fine-for-breaching-patents/43/" title="Microsoft hit with £777m fine for breaching patents">Microsoft hit with £777m fine for breaching patents</a> Published Date: 2007-03-07 14:58:44

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