Big tech is being challenged in courts around the world from the US and Europe to Australia and the Asian subcontinent. From Meta and Alphabet to Apple and Microsoft, they’re all being hauled into courts to answer for their alleged questionable practices.
In the latest developments, on May 10, a US jury in Delaware imposed a U$242 (A$366.39 million) fine on Microsoft for a patent infringement. The verdict results from a lawsuit filed by IPA Technologies in 2018. The lawsuit claimed Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant infringed on IPA’s patent for voice recognition technology. While initially the case involved multiple IPA patents, it eventually focused on one.
IPA Technologies, a subsidiary of Wi-LAN, acquired the patent in question from SRI International’s Siri Company. Apple then acquired Siri Company and its technology in 2010, using it for their Siri voice assistant.
Microsoft indicated that it plans to appeal the decision. “ We continue to firmly believe that Microsoft has not infringed IPA’s patents and will appeal the decision,” a spokesperson said, according to Giz China.
Across the Atlantic, Microsoft is facing fresh legal challenges in Europe. European regulators are set to bring an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft over its Teams software.
The European Commission, the European Union’s antitrust watchdog, will file formal antitrust charges over the next few weeks against Microsoft, reported the Financial Times.
The regulator is investigating whether Microsoft has stifled attempts to compete with Teams by making it run more efficiently when paired with its other in-house software. Also, a lack of data portability for Teams users has made it difficult for customers to switch to rival services.
As ChannelNews reported recently, Microsoft said in April that it would sell its Teams software separately from its Office software products across its global business. The company had already confirmed last year that it would decouple the products in Europe.
