Microsoft Being Sued
According to this BBC article, Alcatel-Lucent sued Microsoft for violating MP3 patents. Microsoft said they shouldn’t have to pay Alcatel, since they already paid Fraunhofer Institute. The Federal District Court in San Diego agreed with Alcatel-Lucent and ordered Microsoft to pay Alcatel $1.52 billion. Microsoft appealed.
After this court decision, other companies using MP3 technology are concerned. Amongst them are Apple, RealNetworks and Sony. They fear that Alcatel-Lucent will come after them next.
While I have to say that at first glance, without any further knowledge of the case, it seems that Microsoft has a pretty strong argument going for them, it sure shows how software patents can come back and bite you.
Microsoft had the choice of going with the patent-free and fully open OGG format. Nobody forced them to use MP3. They chose to go with the patented, proprietary format instead (just like they love to create proprietary “standards” themselves) and now they may have to pay the price for that.
