Microsoft is set to go to trial Tuesday in a patent case that challenges a key element of the software giant's Office software.
Arendi Holdings, a small Swiss company, filed the lawsuit in 2002, charging Microsoft with violating its U.S. Patent 6,323,853 for a "method, system and computer readable medium for addressing handling from a computer program." The case is scheduled to begin a jury trial Tuesday in U.S. District Court for Rhode Island, with a decision expected in about two weeks.
The complaint revolves around "Smart Tags," technology Microsoft introduced with Office XP for linking words in a document to other actions or information. Using Smart Tags, for example, an Office user can automatically add a contact to his address book by clicking on a name in a document.
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