Microsoft, Golden Bridge lose patent infrigement suits to Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia

22 May 2008

A US federal appeals court has upheld a lower court's finding that Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia have not infringed a Golden Bridge Technology cellphone patent even as the US International Trade Commission ruled in favour of Alcatel-Lucent in a Microsoft patents violation case.

The federal appeals court, which hears all patent appeals, upheld the ruling by the US district court for the eastern district of Texas.

The Golden Bridge technology in question makes it possible for multiple mobile phones to connect with the same cellular base station without interfering with each other.

In a similar dispute, the US International Trade Commission has ruled that Alcatel-Lucent has not violated Microsoft's patents in its business telephone networks.

Microsoft had filed a law suit stating the Alcatel-Lucent system that integrates telephones with computers for calls, messages and videoconferences, infringes four Microsoft software patents.

"The commission has determined that there is no violation of section 337," the ITC said in its ruling. Section 337 refers to infringing intellectual property.