MS takes Office offline

Microsoft has made its Office productivity suite unavailable to customers from its online store, MSDN and TechNet services, and the Microsoft Download Centre in order to meet the requirements of a court ruling, reports Windows IT Pro.

Microsoft was found to have infringed on an i4i patent in its Word software, which is part of Office. As part of the ruling against it, the software giant was issued an injunction halting sales of the infringing software.

"We've taken steps to comply with the court's ruling, and we're introducing the revised software into the US market," a Microsoft statement reads. "This process will be imperceptible to the vast majority of customers, who will find both trial and purchase options readily available." According to Microsoft, the removal is temporary and the software will return to its sites soon.

The South Korean, state-run Electronics and Telecommunications Institute (ETRI) has filed claims against Nokia, Motorola and 20 other mobile phone manufacturers for violating seven of its patents for 3G mobile telecommunications standards, states Techtree.

The suit has been filed in California, with ETRI demanding and expecting to get $268 million in royalties from the 22 phone manufacturers.

ETRI has been in mobile technology since 1996 and holds as many as 170 patents for various technologies in the industry.

The owner of a Dallas-based Internet service provider that was raided has been charged with participating in a conspiracy to defraud more than $15 million from companies such as Verizon, AT&T and XO Communications, according to CIO.

Core IP Networks was raided by FBI agents, which at the time owner Matthew Simpson claimed that his company and nearly 50 of his customers were the innocent victims of another's actions.

According to federal prosecutors, Simpson was an active participant in a long-running scam to set up companies that fraudulently obtain lines of credit and then resell telecommunications services before skipping out on the bills.