As we have previously noted (here, for example), whatever else you may want to say about the folks at Microsoft, they certainly are not quitters. Now, their perseverance has raised an issue which is of paramount importance to all patent owners, but which has gone largely unnoticed – until now.

An earlier blog, The End Of a Rule?, dealt with Microsoft’s appeal of an award of TWO HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS in damages to i4i in a patent infringement case. As we noted, the appellate judges asked questions and made statements which seemed to indicate that they favored Microsoft’s position. Well, the decision is now in. Microsoft lost!

(March 30, 2009) Microsoft and TomTom, the Amsterdam-based GPS manufacturer, have settled a patent infringement lawsuit concerning 8 Microsoft patents that allow global positioning systems (GPS) to connect to the Internet, run multiple applications and provide a smooth navigation experience.

As CNET reported on February 10, Microsoft has just been issued its 10,000th patent. But another CNET blogger pointed out that Microsoft has "not much to show" for its 10,000 patents, which he contends were obtained as protection against lawsuits rather than ways of pushing the company's product lines forward. Microsoft still receives most of its revenue from Office and Windows products.