Microsoft pays $440 million to settle InterTrust patent suit over anti-piracy technology

<br>REDMOND, Wash. (AP) _ Microsoft Corp. is paying $440 million to InterTrust Technologies Corp. to settle a 3-year-old patent infringement lawsuit over technology for protecting music, movies and other

Monday, April 12th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) _ Microsoft Corp. is paying $440 million to InterTrust Technologies Corp. to settle a 3-year-old patent infringement lawsuit over technology for protecting music, movies and other digital content against piracy.

Monday's settlement is the second announced this month by the world's No. 1 software company. In a deal announced April 2, Microsoft agreed to pay Sun Microsystems $1.6 billion to settle a private antitrust suit and resolve patent claims.

The settlement with InterTrust, of Santa Clara, Calif., resolves all legal issues between the two companies and grants Microsoft a license to InterTrust's patents on ``digital rights management,'' code designed to prevent the unauthorized copying of files, the companies said. The code limits the number of copies that can be made from a song or movie that is downloaded over the Internet.

The settlement is part of an effort ``to provide peace of mind for our customers and partners by letting them know that patent licensing is our responsibility,'' said Marshall Phelps, Microsoft deputy general counsel and corporate vice president of intellectual property.

InterTrust, owned by a joint venture of Sony, Philips Electronics and the investment banking company Stephens Inc., sued Microsoft in April 2001.

The lawsuit followed a breakdown in licensing talks in 1998-2000, when Microsoft was considering an investment of more than $100 million in InterTrust. Settlement talks began last summer at the urging of a judge.

Last month, Microsoft agreed to settle a patent lawsuit filed by AT&T Corp. over voice-recognition technology for terms that were not disclosed.

Last year, the company settled claims by Time Warner Inc. involving Netscape Communications, now owned by Time Warner's America Online unit, and paid $35 million to settle a case brought by Immersion Corp. over joystick technology.