Microsoft may have to break out its checkbook and pay Uniloc Singapore Private Ltd US$388 million for patent infringement. A Rhode Island court ruled in favor of Uniloc and its claim that Microsoft's anti-piracy registration system infringed on the security software company's patents, according to MarketWatch.
Microsoft won't, however, have to start writing out all those zeroes right away because the company plans to fight the ruling. "We are very disappointed in the jury verdict. We believe that we do not infringe, that the patent is invalid and that this award of damages is legally and factually unsupported," the company said in a statement. "We will ask the court to overturn the verdict."
Uniloc didn't originally win its case against Microsoft. A district court had granted summary judgement in Microsofts favor, but the federal court later reversed that ruling and sent both companies back into the court room.
Uniloc has not commented on the ruling, or on Microsoft's plans to continue fighting the case.