Adobe Wins Macromedia Patent Suit
May 2, 2002 -- Adobe Systems won a lawsuit alleging that Macromedia infringed on its patent for "tabbed palettes," a feature that allows users of design software to rearrange the work space on the PC screen. A jury in the U.S. District Court of Delaware awarded Adobe $2.8 million in damages. Adobe said in a statement that it also expects a judicial injunction preventing Macromedia from selling the infringing software.
The product affected is the Flash User interface, but the exact repercussions of this decision are not yet clear. Macromedia's countersuit, scheduled to begin Monday in the same court, charges that Adobe's Photoshop image-editing software and its GoLive Web design software infringe on two patents that Macromedia holds for editing tools. A second Macromedia countersuit is not yet scheduled for trial.
Adobe Wins Macromedia Patent Suit
Will Flash Be Taken Off the Shelf? (Slashdot, May 3, 2002)
Adobe Beats Macromedia in Tabs Patent Case (Slashdot, May 2, 2002)
Adobe Wins Patent Trial Against Macromedia