Litigation funding company IMF Australia (ASX:IMF) said both its client, Uniloc USA, and Microsoft had filed petitions to rehear parts of an appeal in a patent violation case between the two.
Uniloc USA, which alleges that Microsoft infringed on a copyright protection patent it holds, has asked the court to reverse a ruling overturning the US$388 million ($386.8 million) initially awarded by a jury.
The appeals court had in January confirmed that Microsoft had infringed the Uniloc patent, although it found there was no willful violation.
But it ruled that the damages figure would need to be redetermined, because the jury was improperly informed of Microsoft's revenue from software using the disputed copyright protection mechanisms.
Microsoft, on the other hand, has asked for a retrial on every issue covered in the appeal and not just damages.
IMF, which stands to gain US$30 million from its agreement with Uniloc, said it expects a decision on the rival petitions in the next six months.
IMF in March 2010 agreed to provide Uniloc USA with $5 million in litigation funding to help defend the appeal and pursue other litigation and licensing programs against companies including Sony, McAfee, Adobe, Symantec, Intuit, AutoDesk and Electronic Arts.
In return Uniloc agreed to provide the company a percentage of the damages from the Microsoft and future trials, as well as any licensing programs, until IMF has received US$30 million.
IMF shares grew 1.14% on Friday's trading to $1.770.
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