In a patent battle with wide ramifications, a Chicago inventor won an injunction Wednesday to stop Microsoft Corp. from using his browser technology in future versions of the popular Internet Explorer.
Michael Doyle, founder of Eolas Technologies Inc., also moved one step closer to collecting a $521 million jury award, one of the largest in patent litigation history, for the software giant’s past infringements.
The disputed technology allows surfers to use their browsers to launch programs such as plug-ins that play music and make Web pages interactive.
A federal jury decided in August that Microsoft had illegally incorporated the patented features into Internet Explorer and bundled it with Windows.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Zagel denied Microsoft’s request for a new trial and upheld Eolas’ jury award, plus an additional $45 million in interest. Microsoft said it would ask Zagel to hold off requiring payment pending an appeal.
“We feel good about our prospects on appeal,” said Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler. Zagel’s injunction would be suspended during an appeal.
His rulings Wednesday were the latest actions in a five-year legal battle pitting Eolas and the University of California, where Doyle worked when he co-invented the technology, against the world’s biggest software company.
The dispute has caused an uproar in the Web community, where companies such as Apple Computer Inc. have joined Microsoft in devising software changes that will allow developers to work around Doyle’s patent.
The World Wide Web consortium, a standards setting body, recently persuaded the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to re-examine Doyle’s patent on the grounds that his invention was part of shared knowledge.
“If other patents like this start to come through, it could really start to unravel the Web,” said Dale Dougherty, a vice president at computer book publisher O’Reilly & Associates, who testified for Microsoft at the trial.
Doyle’s attorney, Martin Lueck, said Wednesday, “Microsoft has been making billions using this technology. They’ve been caught and forced to pay for it.”
The $520.6 million jury award is based on a royalty rate of $1.47 for each $60 copy of Windows software sold during the three-year damages period.
“While I am not entirely comfortable with the large size of the judgment,” Zagel stated in his order, “it is not my comfort which matters. The jury, to whom the decision was submitted, conscientiously reached a verdict . . . that was within the realm of reason.”
Eolas has offered Microsoft a paid-up license if Microsoft pays the jury award, according to Leuck.
