Microsoft ordered to pay $1.52 billion
The case is long from settled, and there will likely be a littany of appeals and countersuits, but Alcatel-Lucent won the first round in their legal battle against Microsoft and has been awarded a $1.52B (that's Billion) settlement.
"A U.S. federal jury found that Microsoft Corp. infringed audio patents held by Alcatel-Lucent and should pay $1.52 billion in damages, the No. 1 software maker said Thursday. Microsoft said it plans to first ask the trial judge to knock down the ruling and will appeal if necessary. It said the verdict is unsupported by the law and that it had already licensed the technology in question from Germany's Fraunhofer."
This quote from the piece will likely make your jaw drop, "For Microsoft, $1.52 billion represents about six weeks of cash flow or about 15 cents per share - a charge that most analysts would likely take in stride." Would be nice to have that kind of money to through around, huh?
