Microsoft to Pay $60 Million Settlement
Microsoft to Pay $60 Million Settlement
By BLOOMBERG NEWS
Published: December 26, 2003
Microsoft has agreed to pay $60 million to the Imagexpo unit of the SPX Corporation to end a legal fight over a patent for real-time conferencing software.
A jury in Richmond, Va., in November told Microsoft to pay Imagexpo $62.3 million for impermissibly using the company's patented technology in the NetMeeting Whiteboard features in Microsoft programs. That amount could have been tripled, because the jury determined that Microsoft's use of the Imagexpo's invention was intentional.
The payment will be made by Tuesday, SPX said. An SPX spokesman, Jeremy Smeltser, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., asserted it had independently developed the software and was seeking to invalidate the SPX patent in post-trial hearings scheduled for February.
SPX, which is based in Charlotte, N.C., said the amount it received would be reduced by legal and other lawsuit-related expenses. SPX, a maker of transformers, antennas and industrial equipment, reported net income of $137.1 million on revenue of $3.63 billion for the first nine months of the year.
A Microsoft spokeswoman, Stacy Drake, would not comment on the negotiations that led to the agreement or the amount to be paid.
Shares of Microsoft, which had $51.6 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of September, fell 11 cents on Wednesday, to close at $27.04.
By BLOOMBERG NEWS
Published: December 26, 2003
Microsoft has agreed to pay $60 million to the Imagexpo unit of the SPX Corporation to end a legal fight over a patent for real-time conferencing software.
A jury in Richmond, Va., in November told Microsoft to pay Imagexpo $62.3 million for impermissibly using the company's patented technology in the NetMeeting Whiteboard features in Microsoft programs. That amount could have been tripled, because the jury determined that Microsoft's use of the Imagexpo's invention was intentional.
The payment will be made by Tuesday, SPX said. An SPX spokesman, Jeremy Smeltser, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., asserted it had independently developed the software and was seeking to invalidate the SPX patent in post-trial hearings scheduled for February.
SPX, which is based in Charlotte, N.C., said the amount it received would be reduced by legal and other lawsuit-related expenses. SPX, a maker of transformers, antennas and industrial equipment, reported net income of $137.1 million on revenue of $3.63 billion for the first nine months of the year.
A Microsoft spokeswoman, Stacy Drake, would not comment on the negotiations that led to the agreement or the amount to be paid.
Shares of Microsoft, which had $51.6 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of September, fell 11 cents on Wednesday, to close at $27.04.
Comments
MacsRGood4U to stop posting press releases
By AppleInsider News
Released: December 26, 2003
In a completely unexpected move, MacsRGood4U agreed today to put an end to the useless press releases he'd been posting for a while now.
The membership of AppleInsider was completely suprised by this move.
An AppleInsider moderator, who did not want to be named, said "I think he thought his new custom title was like a pat on the back, when it was really a slam because we hate his threads". He could not comment on this issue further.
Other members, who also wanted to remain nameless, said that they were happy about this development, because they did not like his way to post press releases.
An unidentified member: "I mean, y'know, they're press releases. It's nothing cool about them. Especially if you post them without content, just the release, nothing more. I mean, if he'd post them with a quote of the release, a link, and his own opinion, we'd be off much better. But no, that's too difficult. I am really thankful that he agreed to stop this madness."
MacsRGood4U did not return a call seeking for further comment.
User Appreciation Levels of MacsRGood4U dropped to his all-time low on Friday, measuring a measly 0.1 Points out of 100.
Look what I just found. Sorry, can't provide a link, because it's fresh from the press, ah make that 'keyboard'.
I received your email. Thank you.
This thread is not about a press release. It is a news story. Do you understand the difference?
Have a Happy New Year.