Microsoft Loses Technicality Points In Eolas Case

from the ongoing... dept

While the battle over the validity of the Eolas patent continues, Microsoft has lost a small battle happening on the side. Basically, Microsoft was protesting that, should they lose the case and have to pay up to Eolas, they shouldn't have to pay fines for products shipped outside the US, since the patent is a US patent. The appeals court upheld Microsoft's liability for products outside the US, saying that the master copy was developed in the US. While this is a minor side-line squabble in the overall case, it does raise some interesting jurisdiction questions later on, concerning what laws will apply to certain software products. If Microsoft had developed the product in India, would they be exempt from US laws?