Microsoft Faces $242 Million Verdict in Cortana Patent Lawsuit

Microsoft (MSFT.O), must pay patent owner IPA Technologies $242 million, a federal jury in Delaware said on Friday after determining that Microsoft’s Cortana virtual-assistant software infringed an IPA patent.

The jury agreed with IPA after a week-long trial that Microsoft’s voice-recognition technology violates IPA’s patent rights in computer-communications software.

IPA is a subsidiary of patent-licensing company Wi-LAN, which is jointly owned by Canadian technology company Quarterhill (QTRH.TO), and two investment firms. It bought the patent and others from SRI International’s Siri Inc, which Apple acquired in 2010 and whose technology it used in its Siri virtual assistant.

Read more at Reuters