Confused jury causes $388 million verdict against Microsoft to be reversed

Steve Ballmer and the team at Microsoft are probably feeling a little relieved right now thanks to a confused and misinformed jury. The giant software company was facing a $388 million patent verdict when a jury found that Uniloc Singapore Private Ltd. and Uniloc USA Inc. had its anti-piracy patents infringed, allegedly resulting in billions in revenue for Microsoft. However, judge William Smith in Providence, Rhode Island threw out the verdict after determining that the “lacked a grasp of the issues before it and reached a finding without a legally sufficient basis.” Wow. Exactly how did this happen and where did that astronomical number come from?

Lawyers for Uniloc showed jurors at trial a pie chart with $19.1 billion in revenue from the Windows XP operating system and some versions of Word. They were seeking 2.9 percent of that total, or $564 million. The jury awarded the Singapore company $388 million.

via Microsoft Wins Reversal of Uniloc $388 Million Patent Verdict – Bloomberg.com.

There you have it – leave it to the lawyers and you’ll have a jury scratching its collective head. Attributing all that revenue to a single alleged patent infringement and wanting a piece of the pie is hardly sufficient. Furthermore, Smith didn’t think that Microsoft infringed on Uniloc’s patent. This all comes as good news for Microsoft for obvious reasons, but it also mentions that Uniloc shouldn’t have been able to use those charts and figures for determining damages. Another win for the big guys.