Tech giant, Microsoft, has been directed to compensate IPA Technologies for claimed patent infringement on the Cortana virtual assistant, to the tune of $242 million.
The US District Court for the District of Delaware stated in its ruling that Microsoft had utilised technology that was protected by a patent held by IPA Technologies, which had expired in January 2019.
The patent at issue, US Patent No. 7,069,560, as seen by Newsng relates to technologies used in digital assistants.
Microsoft on Friday failed in its attempt to invalidate the patent ultimately leading to the heavy fine.
The news follows closely on the reports that eight prominent U.S. media owned by investment giant, Alden Global Capital, sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement.
In response to the court verdict on the patent, Microsoft stated, “We remain confident that Microsoft never infringed on IPA’s patents and will appeal.”
The case which is now narrowed to concern one IPA patent was initiated in 2018.
Microsoft refuted the accusations, claiming the patent in question was invalid and there was no violation.
The tech giant disclosed that it will appeal the decision.
Microsoft plans to appeal the decision, indicating the persistent legal conflicts that accompany tech innovation and market competition.
Fresh from its investment spree in the $1.5 billion in G42, an artificial intelligence company based in the United Arab Emirates and others in Indonesia, Malaysia to expand cloud computing and to support the development of the AI infrastructure has allegedly forbade the USPD from using the facial recognition software Azure OpenAI, driven by artificial intelligence.