San Francisco (CA) – i4i has pledged to ‘vigorously enforce’ its custom XML patent despite Microsoft’s decision to appeal an injunction preventing the sale of MS Word 2003/2007.
“The appeal was fully expected given the significance of the case and the flagship status of Microsoft Word to the defendant,” i4i Chairman Loudon Owen told TG Daily. “[We] will continue to vigorously enforce [our] patent. We firmly believe the jury verdict and judgment were both fair and correct and we have been vindicated through this process.”
Loudon also rebuffed speculation that i4i had deliberately chosen Texas as a trial venue in the hopes of receiving a more favorable legal judgement from less than competent judges.
“The driving factor behind i4i’s decision to choose Texas as a venue for the trial was the fact that our legal team is based in Dallas. The court is actually under federal, not state jursidiction and maintains a high degree of patent expertise. It is unfortunate that regional differences continue to be highlighted in the context of this trial.”
When asked about the possibility of Microsoft eventually licensing patent #5,787,449, Loudon said he believed a “fair resolution” has already been achieved.
“The [legal] claim was filed in 2007. We have been consistent in what we are seeking and believe a fair resolution has been reached at this stage. Microsoft knows our phone number and knows how to reach us. This issue is a solely a question of property rights – pure and simple,” added Loudon.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft continues to insist that an injunction preventing the sale of Word will cause “irreparable harm.”
“If left undisturbed, the district court’s injunction will inflict irreparable harm on Microsoft by potentially keeping the centerpiece of its product line out of the market for months,” Microsoft claimed in its appeal.
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