Federal Judge Orders Microsoft to Stop Selling Word
USA Todayreports that a federal district court judge ordered Microsoft (MSFT) to stop selling its Microsoft Word product in the U.S. It would be a major blow to Microsoft if it was prevented from selling its popular word processing sofware. The problem has to do with an XML patent that a small company named i4i says Microsoft violated. Microsoft was also ordered to pay $290 million in fines.
Toronto-based i4i, which has 30 employees, claims that Microsoft violated an obscure patent related to Extensible Markup Language or XML. It's a key software component of many websites and computer programs, including Word.
Judge Leonard Davis agreed Tuesday, ordering Microsoft to pay $290 million in fines and stop selling Word in the U.S. in 60 days. That could derail a core business for the world's largest software maker.
As part of Microsoft Office, Word is used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Office accounted for more than $3 billion in sales in the company's last fiscal year.
Engadget notes that Microsoft has already vowed to appeal the patent ruling. Don't expect Word to be pulled off the shelves anytime soon. Microsoft will find a way to keep selling this major component of its Office software.
USA Today 
