Sentius International, LLC v. Microsoft Corp.

ORDER GRANTING-IN-PART DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OF NO INFRINGEMENT

(Re: Docket No. 129)

The humble squiggle (or tilde) plays a rather prominent role in the worlds of mathematics and computer science. In symbolic logic the squiggle negates that which it follows. In Unix operating systems, the squiggle represents a home directory. Quake fans will recall that the squiggle launches the command line interface. The squiggles at issue in this case are the red, blue and green squiggles that indicate spelling and grammar errors in various applications produced by Defendant Microsoft Corporation.

Plaintiff Sentius International LLC charges that the functionality surrounding these squiggles directly and indirectly infringes United States Patent Nos. RE40,-731 and RE43,633. Sentius further charges that Microsoft’s infringement was willful. Microsoft naturally disagrees. While the parties’ dispute about direct infringement presents issues of material fact that must be resolved by a jury, no reasonable jury could find that Microsoft is hable for either pre-suit induced infringement or willful infringement. The motion for summary judgment therefore is GRANTED, but only IN…