The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with Microsoft in a closely watched patent dispute that could limit the reach of domestic patents in overseas uses. Monday's 7-1 decision overturned a lower court ruling, essentially concluding that Microsoft is not liable for overseas patent infringements in machines that run the Windows operating system and use a voice translation technology patented by AT&T. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who penned the majority decision, said the lower courts extended an exception in patent law too far.
April 30th 2007