Microsoft faces a trial in a patent infringement suit
over the "autoplay" feature in Windows that automatically starts an
application after storage media is loaded into a PC.
Little-known TV Interactive Data (TVI) sued Microsoft in May
2002, seeking damages and an injunction barring Microsoft from
further infringement. Microsoft flagged the case in its quarterly
regulatory filing with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)
last week.
TVI has alleged that Microsoft infringes on four of its US
patents, three entitled "host device equipped with means for
starting a process in response to detecting insertion of a storage
media" and one entitled "method for starting up a process
automatically on insertion of a storage media into a host
device".
Additionally, TVI charged that a Microsoft patent, entitled
"method and system for automatically running a program" interferes
with the TVI patents as it covers a TVI invention.
Microsoft denied infringement and claimed TVI's patents are
invalid - a common response in patent infringement cases.
A meeting to try to settle the case without a trial has been set
for 20 February. A trial had been set for July, but has been moved
to September. .
Microsoft is the defendant in more than 30 patent cases, but
only three were listed in last week's filing to the SEC. The others
are the high-profile case brought by Eolas Technologies and the
University of California over Internet Explorer and a case brought
by InterTrust Technologies over Digital Rights Management and other
technologies.
In the Eolas case, Microsoft has been ordered to pay damages of
$520m. The InterTrust case involves a large number of Microsoft
products and is scheduled to go to trial next year.
Microsoft warned a verdict for InterTrust could have an adverse
effect on the distribution of Windows or Office.
Joris Evers writes for IDG News Service