Microsoft seeks patent settlement

Microsoft Corp. said Monday it was in “active discussions” to resolve an eight-year patent dispute that had resulted in a $521- million jury verdict against it.

A retrial in the case, scheduled to begin Monday in Chicago, has been put on hold for a month. The dispute centers on a feature within Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web browser that allows embedded links. The patent is owned by the University of California and licensed to Eolas Technologies Inc., a closely held company formed by university researcher Michael Doyle.

“We are in active discussions with Eolas Technologies regarding a possible settlement,” said Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans. “We are hopeful that we can resolve our dispute amicably.”

A Chicago jury, saying Microsoft infringed the patent, awarded the damages in 2003. A U.S. appeals court overturned part of the verdict, giving Microsoft a second chance to argue that the patent was invalid because others invented the technology first.

Microsoft is challenging claims by Eolas and the university that they invented technology used for embedded links that generate, for instance, a small window that gives a virtual tour of houses, vehicles or other items for sale online. The university and Doyle’s company, based in Wheaton, Ill., sued Microsoft for patent infringement in 1999.

Jury selection has been put off for 30 days while the two sides try to negotiate a settlement, Evans said.

Microsoft has been challenging the patent at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as well. The agency in May said it would consider whether Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft or Doyle was the first to invent the feature and thus entitled to the patent.