Texas Judge Rules Microsoft Can't Sell Word

A Texas judge has ruled that Microsoft cannot sell its cornerstone word processing software, Microsoft Word, because of patent infringement.

Judge Leonard Davis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ordered a permanent injunction that "prohibits Microsoft from selling or importing to the United States any Microsoft Word products that have the capability of opening .XML, .DOCX or DOCM files (XML files) containing custom XML," according to an announcement by the plaintiff, Toronto-based i4i Inc. That would include Microsoft Word 2003, Microsoft Word 2007, and future Microsoft Word products that contain the same technology.

Texas' Eastern District court is known for being a haven for patent litigation, and for being particularly friendly to plaintiffs in those cases.

Judge Davis also assessed Microsoft $290 million in fines and required the company to comply with the injunction within 60 days. The injunction would not apply, however, if Word was modified in a way that would eliminate the custom XML.

Microsoft said it would appeal.

"We are disappointed by the court's ruling," Kevin Kutz, a Microsoft spokesman, said in a statement. "We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid. We will appeal the verdict."