The decision is certainly going to make it harder for Microsoft in court. The patent office viewed the prior art and said, 'We think the patent is OK.' It will make it harder to invalidate at trial -- not impossible, but hard. |
The patent is related to making and selling things in the United States. But if you one master CD in the U.S. and the rest overseas, the master CD is very significant. The court can consider the effect of related activities outside the country. If as a result, the infringing company profited, it's settled law that you can get damages caused by that infringement. |