On February 2, Red Hat, Verizon, and Hewlett-Packard filed a joint amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Microsoft’s appeal against a patent-infringement injunction won in May 2009 by i4i, Inc. i4i had claimed that an XML feature in Microsoft’s Word software violated its patent rights, and the injunction, which took effect on January 11, 2010, required Microsoft to stop selling copies of Word that included the disputed technology. “The common concern among Microsoft and its supporters is the fact that software patents – like other kinds of patents – often are easier to obtain at the USPTO than they are to attack in litigation,” says Christopher Barnett, an attorney with Scott & Scott, LLP. “Many large, software- and tech-industry stakeholders have their eyes fixed on this case, because it gives the Supreme Court another opportunity to provide meaningful guidance on the proper way for trial courts to assess infringement claims pertaining to software patents.” For more information, contact Mr. Barnett at 800-596-6176 or cbarnett@scottandscottllp.com.