Microsoft Reverses Course on Planned Changes to IE

January 30, 2004 (11:37 AM EST)

Microsoft Reverses Course on Planned Changes to IE

Microsoft put a hold on plans to make tweaks to Windows XP and Internet Explorer after a judge upheld a $520 million verdict against it for allegedly violating a patent owned by Eolas' Technologies.

In October, Microsoft announced that it would make minor changes to Windows and Internet Explorer after a jury ruled last summer that it had violated a web browser patent owned by Chicago-based software company, a spinoff created by developers at the University of California.

However, after the ruling was announced in the middle of January, Microsoft said that it would formally appeal the ruling and will hold off on any code changes until the appeal is heard.

As part of the Jan. 13 ruling, the judge also issued a stay on an injunction that would have required Microsoft to make changes to IE to remove the infringing code.

Microsoft cancelled an update to IE and won't make any changes related to the Eolas case in the Windows XP Service Pack 2, the company said. The appeal will likely be filed in February, a Microsoft spokesman said.

Article appears courtesy of CRN.