A federal jury in Delaware has ordered Microsoft to pay $242 million to patent holder IPA Technologies after finding that Microsoft’s Cortana virtual assistant software infringed on an IPA patent.
The jury sided with IPA following a week-long trial, concluding that Microsoft’s voice recognition technology breaches IPA’s patent rights in computer communications software.
IPA Technologies, a subsidiary of patent licensing company Wi-LAN, acquired the patent and others from SRI International’s Siri Inc., previously utilized by Apple in its Siri virtual assistant.
“We remain confident that Microsoft never infringed on IPA’s patents and will appeal,” stated a Microsoft spokesperson.
Representatives for IPA and Wi-LAN did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the verdict.
The lawsuit was initially filed by IPA in 2018, alleging that Microsoft violated patents related to personal digital assistants and voice-based data navigation.
Eventually, the case focused on a single IPA patent, with Microsoft contending that it neither infringed nor made the patent valid.
IPA has also pursued legal action against Google and Amazon over its patents. Amazon successfully defended against IPA’s lawsuit in 2021, while the case against Google is still ongoing.
