Microsoft has lost another appeal of an August 2009 court judgment that found the company in infringement of XML patents owned by i4i. Those patents cover the use of XML in Microsoft Word 2003 and 2007, and the US$240 million decision forced Microsoft to begin removing the functionality from those applications.
Microsoft immediately appealed the initial decision, resulting in a judgment last December that upheld the ruling. The second appeal decision also upholds it and notes that “there was evidence that Microsoft knew i4i technology was patented before it turned up in Office programs,” according to the BBC.
Microsoft has another appeal it can make. If that one is rebuffed too, the company can take its case to the US Supreme Court, which would decide whether or not to hear the arguments.