Microsoft Expects Apple to Seek $4.3 Billion in Copyright Suit

Software powerhouse Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday that it expects Apple Computer to seek more than $4 billion in damages in a copyright infringement suit.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., disclosed in a press release that legal documents it had received from Apple indicated that Apple would ask for about $4.3 billion in damages in the 4-year-old lawsuit.

A spokesman for Apple said, however, that the figure came from a damages study conducted for Apple by a Hoover Institute professor.

It may not represent Apple’s formal damage claim, he said.

“It’s one of the many pieces of evidence Apple will be presenting regarding damages,” the spokesman said.

The case is expected to go to trial this summer. Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., had been expected to ask for substantial monetary damages as well as an injunction barring the sale of Microsoft’s popular Windows software program, but had never revealed a figure.

Apple contends that Windows illegally incorporates many of the graphics features that were pioneered on the Apple Macintosh computer.

Hewlett-Packard, which licensed Windows from Microsoft, is a co-defendant in the case.

Microsoft’s defense is that it had a legal right to use the features under a 1985 licensing agreement with Apple, and that some of the features cannot be protected by copyright.

Although many of Apple’s claims have been thrown out during the long pretrial process, it appears likely that 10 key claims will be decided by a jury.

Legal experts and industry analysts are divided on Apple’s prospects for winning.

An Apple victory could have dramatic repercussions in the personal computer business, possibly forcing Microsoft and other software companies to rewrite many programs.

The study says Apple suffered $3 billion in lost profits as a result of competition from Windows.

In addition, the study says, Apple should receive more than $1.3 billion as its share of the revenues Microsoft has received from the sale of Windows and other Microsoft products that rely on Windows.