“We think this decision is completely unsupported by the law or the facts,” Microsoft deputy general counsel Tom Burt said in a statement.
The company has also warned that the ruling could open the floodgates to legal action being taken by Alcatel-Lucent against hundreds of other MP3 licensee companies.
Microsoft said the lawsuit involved converting audio into MP3 format on personal computers.
The dispute dates to 2002 and 2003 when networking firm Lucent (which was subsequently acquired by Alcatel last year) sued PC makers Gateway and Dell over claimed patent infringements. Microsoft then sued Lucent over the claims – which involved software running on PCs – and Lucent counter-sued.
Microsoft has called the ruling outrageous. It says it properly licensed MP3 technology from the German research outfit Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft for US$16 million in 1997 and 2004.
“We think this verdict is completely unsupported by the law or the facts,” Microsoft’s Mr Burt said. “We will seek relief from the trial court, and if necessary appeal.”
"Like hundreds of other companies large and small, we believe that we properly licensed MP3 technology from its industry recognised licensor – Fraunhofer.”
“The damages award seems particularly outrageous when you consider we paid Fraunhofer only $16 million to license this technology.
“We are concerned that this decision opens the door for Alcatel-Lucent to pursue action against hundreds of other companies who purchased the rights to use MP3 technology from Fraunhofer, the industry-recognized rightful licensor.”
The appeal process is expected to be a lengthy one.
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