A federal appeals court on Wednesday overturned a $521 million patent infringement ruling against Microsoft Corp. and ordered a lower court to retry the case against the world's largest software maker.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said the original verdict, which found that parts of Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser had infringed on technology developed by privately held firm Eolas Technologies Inc. and the University of California, had ignored two of Microsoft's key arguments.
The case sparked concerns that Microsoft would have to alter its Internet browser, making it unable to run certain applets, or mini-applications, that run on Web pages. Microsoft's browser is used by 9 of every 10 Web surfers.
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