Priceline.com Settles Dispute With Microsoft

A lawsuit brought by Internet retailer Priceline.com Inc. against Microsoft Corp. and its majority-owned online travel company, Expedia Inc., has been settled, the companies said. The suit, filed in October 1999 in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, alleged that Microsoft had infringed a Priceline patent by creating a price-matching system for hotel rooms on the Expedia Web site. Under the settlement, Expedia will continue to offer the price-matching service but will pay an unspecified royalty fee to Norwalk, Conn.-based Priceline. Other details of the arrangement are confidential, the companies said. Shares of Priceline jumped 25 cents to close at $1.81. The shares traded as high as $95.94 in March. Shares of Microsoft closed up $2.88 at $51.81, while Expedia rose 50 cents to close at $9.88. All three trade on Nasdaq.