Judge Throws Out $1.5 Billion MP3 Patent Infringement Suit Against Microsoft

Remember when Alcatel-Lucent sued Microsoft for infringing on two patents it holds regarding the compression of music using the MP3 format? Yesterday, the judge reversed a jury's earlier finding that Microsoft had infringed on one of the patents, owned by Lucent's former parent company, AT&T.
Judge Rudi Brewster found that since Microsoft was had a license through Fraunhofer to allow Windows Media Player to encode and play MP3s.

If Alcatel-Lucent had won, that victory would almost have certainly paved the way for the company to sue any and everything involved with MP3, since companies using the technology typically have the same Fraunhofer license Microsoft has, licensed through Thomson. As things stand now, Microsoft doesn't owe a dime, although the decision could be appealed. The company issued the following statement:

"Today's ruling by the judge reversing the jury's $1.52 billion verdictagainst Microsoft is a victory for consumers of digital music and atriumph for common sense in the patent system. For the hundreds ofcompanies large and small that rely on MP3 technology, the Court'sruling clarifies that these companies have properly licensed thetechnology embodied in the '080 patent from its co-owner and industryrecognized MP3 licensor--Fraunhofer."

(via news.com)