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Microsoft Asks for Emergency Stay in Word Patent Dispute

According to federal court records, on Friday Microsoft filed an emergency motion to stay last week's ruling ordering the company to stop selling Word in the United States.

The injunction, issued by East Texas U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis, followed findings by a jury in May that Microsoft had "willfully" violated a patent owned by the Canadian software firm i4i relating to custom XML. Microsoft has 60 days to comply.

Davis also ordered Microsoft to pay i4i $200 million for the patent infringement plus another $40 million for the extra finding of it being willful.

According to the court's online docket for the case, the emergency motion asked for both a stay against the injunction and a "waive of bond requirement," but because the motion has been sealed by the court, no other details are available.

The court docket does not indicate when the motion may be heard or ruled on.

About the Author

Becky Nagel is the former editorial director and director of Web for 1105 Media's Converge 360 group, and she now serves as vice president of AI for company, specializing in developing media, events and training for companies around AI and generative AI technology. She's the author of "ChatGPT Prompt 101 Guide for Business Users" and other popular AI resources with a real-world business perspective. She regularly speaks, writes and develops content around AI, generative AI and other business tech. Find her on X/Twitter @beckynagel.

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