i4i

A quick rundown of Tuesday's headlines, including a new cybersecurity chief at the White House, a legal loss for Microsoft, and a weather-related win for online retailers.

Today's stories:

White House appoints cybersecurity chief

Microsoft loses Word patent appeal, will change code

Snowstorm blankets Web with high shopping traffic

LG, RIM top Apple in number of phone users

Report: FBI investigating Citibank cyberattack

Yahoo shutting down for the holidays

Mom calls cops for help with son's gaming addiction

Updated 12:20 p.m. PST with additional information and background.

Microsoft has lost an appeal in a patent case that will force it to alter Microsoft Word to avoid an injunction on sales of the product.

Microsoft lost a patent case involving a company called I4i in May, after a jury ruled that Microsoft infringed one of i4i's patents with a custom XML feature found in Word. In August an injunction was placed on sales of Word pending the appeal, which did not go in Microsoft's favor Tuesday.

"We couldn't be more pleased with the … Read more

A federal court on Tuesday reversed an earlier ruling that Microsoft's product activation technology infringed on another company's patent, overturning a $388 million verdict in the case.

In a ruling on Tuesday, the court vacated the earlier decision and decided the case in Microsoft's favor.

"We are pleased that the court has vacated the jury verdict and entered judgment in favor of Microsoft," Microsoft spokesman Kevin Kutz said in a statement.

Tuesday's ruling is the latest twist in a case that has had plenty of them. Microsoft initially won a summary judgment ruling, which … Read more

A federal appeals court on Wednesday heard arguments over whether to uphold an injunction that would ban sales of Microsoft Word in its current form.

Microsoft is appealing a jury's ruling that a custom XML feature in recent versions of Word infringes on a patent held by I4i, a Canadian software company. The jury ordered Microsoft to pay $200 million, while a judge raised that amount and also issued the injunction, although it has been temporarily put on hold while Microsoft's appeal is being heard.

The hearing before a three-judge panel in Washington, D.C., lasted about 90 … Read more

Microsoft will have its day in court on Wednesday.

OK, so the software maker still spends lots of days in court, even if it has settled many of the antitrust cases that once filled its Outlook calendar. Wednesday, though, it will make its case to an appeals court for why it shouldn't face an injunction banning sales of Word that contain a custom XML feature.

Earlier this year, a federal jury found that recent versions of Word infringe on a patent held by I4i and ordered Microsoft to pay the Canadian company $200 million. Last month, a federal judge … Read more

Update, 11:10 a.m. PST: Added response from Microsoft.

I4i said Wednesday that it refutes the latest claims made by Microsoft in an XML patent infringement case involving Word.

I4i Chairman Loudon Owen called Microsoft's claims "the same weak defenses Microsoft repackaged from the trial and raised on appeal."

Following its recent appeal, Microsoft was granted a stay of an injunction last week that would have forced the company to stop selling Word in its current form by next month.

In its appeal, Microsoft criticized the district court that ordered it to stop selling Word, claiming … Read more

Updated at 8:30 p.m. PDT with comment from i4i.

Microsoft has been granted a stay of a landmark injunction in a patent infringement case that would have required the software giant to stop selling its popular Word in its current form by next month.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday granted Microsoft's motion for a stay, pending appeal, of an injunction issued in August by a federal judge that bars sales of Word that include a custom XML code found to infringe on patents held by i4i--the plaintiff.

"We are … Read more

Microsoft late Tuesday filed its formal appeal of a patent infringement ruling that threatens to halt sales of Word in its current form.

In May, a jury ordered Microsoft to pay $200 million for infringing on a patent held by Canada's I4i. Earlier this month, a federal judge increased that monetary award and also issued an injunction barring sales of Word that include the custom XML code found to infringe on I4i's patents.

"We believe the court erred in its interpretation and application of the law in this case and look forward to the September 23 hearing … Read more

A federal appeals court has scheduled a hearing next month to decide whether to uphold a ruling that would force Microsoft to stop selling Word in its current form.

A district court judge last week issued an injunction that would halt sales of any version of Word that includes a custom XML function that was found by a jury to infringe on a patent from Canada's I4i. In May, that jury also dinged Microsoft with $200 million in damages, an amount that the judge hiked to more than $290 million at the same time he ordered the injunction, which … Read more