Microsoft to Pay $8.9m in Patent Suit

Despite the fact that Microsoft holds an extensive patent portfolio containing in excess of 10,000 issued and pending United States patents, a court found that it did not have the right to link Access and Excel using a method invented by Brazilian programmer Carlos Armando Amado.

Amando devised a way to connect Excel with Access using a specially crafted spreadsheet during his tenure as a graduate student at Stanford University. After applying for a patent in 1990, Mr. Amando approached Microsoft to license the software, but was denied.

The complaint filed in court alleges that Microsoft instead applied the software -- without consent -- to Access 95, 97, 200 and 2002. The patent was formalized in 1994.

A jury in the U.S. District Court of Central California found for Amado and Microsoft must now pay $8.9 million in restitution. The damages are being awarded for the period between March 1997 and July 2003. U.S. District Judge David Carter will review the jury's ruling to determine whether or not the damages paid to Amando are an adequate remedy.

Commenting on the jury's decision, a Microsoft spokesperson told BetaNews: "While today's verdict is disappointing, we are pleased the jury rejected Mr. Amado's large damages claims. We do not believe today's verdict will have any impact on our customers. We will review today's ruling, together with upcoming matters in this case still pending before the court, to determine our legal strategy."

"In addition, we continue to contend that there was no infringement of any kind, and that our linked table feature was developed by our own engineers based on pre-existing Microsoft technology," the spokesperson added.

"Microsoft is an intellectual property company - we invest heavily in research and development, and we respect the intellectual property rights of others."

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