At & T Corporation Case Summary

AT&T Corporation, an American multinational telecommunications establishment, possessed a patent that protected speech recognition software in the United States. Similarly, Microsoft, an American multinational technology company, created code to make a computer program that also recognized speech, but instead decided to sell it in foreign countries. Essentially, Microsoft found a complex loophole in Section 271(f) of the United States’ Patent Act and was eventually able to legally sell their speech recognition program in foreign countries. However, AT&T believed Microsoft to be held liable for infringement because Microsoft stole their software program and earned money off of what was originally AT&T’s idea. The Microsoft Corporation versus …show more content…
AT&T’s suit won over the district court and found Microsoft liable for infringement. However, Microsoft disliked the district court’s ruling at appealed the case to the Federal Circuit, which is the only appellate court with the authority to hear appealed patent cases, only to be charged as liable for a second time. The Federal Circuit looked at one of the few similar cases that was heard in the past, Deepsouth Packing Co. v. Laitram Corp. Laitram Corporation held a patent on a shrimp cleaning machine and Deepsouth Packing proceeded to send a similar machine abroad to be copied by foreign manufacturers. When Laitram filed a law suit against Deepsosuth, Laitram won because Deepsouth sent a machine, an item covered in Section 271(f), and Deepsouth was convicted of infringement. Again, Microsoft questioned the credibility of the two court’s rulings and appealed the case to the Supreme Court. In 2006, the Supreme Court finally agreed to hear Microsoft’s petition and granted it a writ of certiorari (Legal Information Institute). In result, Microsoft Corporation won the Supreme Court’s vote seven to one because the company merely sent NetMeeting’s code, which is not covered in Section 271(f) (Chicago-Kent College of