Aussie inventor's $445m judgment against Microsoft wiped out

[depakid]

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

An Australian inventor, who was set to reap the lion's share of a mammoth $US388 million ($445 million) damages award from Microsoft, is now set to get nothing after the US judge hearing the case decided to ignore the jury's decision and hand victory to Microsoft.

Ric Richardson, who divides his time between Northern Rivers in NSW and California, is the founder of Uniloc, which sued Microsoft in 2003 for violating its patent relating to technology designed to deter software piracy. The company alleged Microsoft earned billions of dollars by using the technology in its Windows XP and Office programs.

In April, a Rhode Island jury found Microsoft had violated the patent and told Microsoft to pay the company $US388 million, one of the largest patent jury awards in US history. But on Tuesday in the US (today Australian time), US District Judge William Smith "vacated" the jury's verdict and ruled in favour of Microsoft.

In a telephone interview, Richardson appeared dumbfounded by the decision. "It's such a shock that I really have to have my lawyers unravel this mess for me," he said, adding he could not comment further before taking legal advice. "It was never about the money. It was about the ethics of it ... winning a court case is not winning the lottery."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/biz-tech/aussie-inventors-445m-microsoft-windfall-wiped-out-20090930-gc77.html