Over the past month, two Australian patents have stood up to the tough US system and registered wins for their owners.

In mid-April, an Australian company, Uniloc, was awarded damages of $US 388 million, or approximately $AU 537 million, after a US court found that Microsoft infringed Uniloc’s patent rights.

Uniloc’s patent relates to software for stopping users putting software on more than one computer. The software was invented by Ric Richardson, an Australian who is a major shareholder in Uniloc, in the 1990s. Uniloc alleged that its rights were infringed by Microsoft using the software in each of their Windows XP and Office programs.

While the payout is the fifth-largest award by a jury in a patent case, it is only about eight days’ profit for Microsoft. It’s also worth noting that the payout could be tripled because Microsoft was aware of the patent but continued to use the software in their programs.

This decision was quickly followed by a settlement in a Texas courtroom. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) accused a number of large companies, such as Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Dell, Toshiba, Asus, Microsoft and Nintendo, of using their patented wireless local area network technology without a license. This technology is known as the 802.11 wireless standard and is used in computers, mobile phones and gaming consoles. Each of the accused has now agreed to settle the case, but the terms of settlement are confidential.

In addition to its large financial windfall obtained through settling the case, CSIRO can now expect flow on royalties providing money to further their research for many years.

While juries are used to settle patent disputes in the United States, a judge will determine the outcome of any cases before an Australia court. In these cases, a judge may award triple the damages if any patent infringement is deemed to be deliberate. For further information, please contact Actuate IP or read about our patent dispute resolution services.

- Amy Hunter