Circuit Tosses $358M Award Against Microsoft

(CN) -- Microsoft won its appeal of a $358 million patent infringement award to Alcatel-Lucent. The Federal Circuit ruled that although Microsoft infringed on the software patent, the damage amount was not supported by evidence.

"It was Lucent's burden to prove that the licenses relied on were sufficiently comparable to sustain a lump-sum damages award of $358 million," the ruling states. "This is not an instance in which the jury chose a damages award somewhere between maximum and minimum lump-sum amounts advocated by the opposing parties."

Alcatel-Lucent filed several lawsuits in November 2006, claiming certain software features on Outlook, Money and Windows Mobile infringed on Alcatel-Lucent's patent.

Microsoft claimed the feature was only worth $6.5 million. Last summer, a jury estimated it was worth $358 million.

The Washington, D.C.-based circuit sent the case back to the District Court in California to decide damages.

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