TapTechNews received a tip from a user Diixx! According to Reuters on May 10, a federal jury in Delaware, USA, ruled that Microsoft had infringed on a patent held by IPATechnologies and ordered Microsoft to pay $242 million (approximately ￥1.75 billion Chinese yuan as of TapTechNews note). The jury found that Microsoft's Cortana voice assistant software infringed on IPA's patent in computer communication software. This ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by IPATechnologies in 2018. IPA accused Microsoft's voice recognition technology of infringing on several patents related to personal digital assistants and voice data navigation. After the trial, the focus of the case narrowed down to one of IPA's patents. Microsoft argued that they did not infringe and declared the patent invalid. IPATechnologies is a subsidiary of patent licensing company Wi-LAN, which is jointly owned by Canadian tech company Quarterhill and two investment firms. It is reported that IPA acquired the patent in question from SRI International's Siri division, which Apple purchased in 2010 and incorporated into its Siri voice assistant. In response to the ruling, a Microsoft spokesperson stated, 'We still believe that Microsoft did not infringe on IPA's patent and will appeal the decision.' Representatives from IPA and Wi-LAN have not yet responded to the ruling. It is worth noting that IPA has previously sued Google and Amazon for similar reasons. Amazon won the case in 2021, while the lawsuit against Google is ongoing.