WASHINGTON, D.C. – A $520.6 million patent infringement judgement against Microsoft was reversed by an appeals court on Wednesday, and a new trial ordered in the dispute brought by Eolas Technologies.Ironically, both sides are claiming victory. While the appeals court ordered a lower court to hold a new trial concerning the validity of the patent, the appeals court upheld the lower court’s judgement that Microsoft infringed on the patent, as well as the awarded damages.

In August 2003, a jury ruled against Microsoft and ordered the company pay damages to the tune of $520.6 million. In January 2004, Judge James Zagel at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago upheld the jury verdict.

Microsoft went to the Court of Appeals. The case was heard in December 2004 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, the appeals court reversed the lower court’s decision against Microsoft and ordered a new trial.

“Today’s appeals court decision overturning and remanding the district court verdict in the Eolas patent case is a clear victory not only for Microsoft, but for Internet users as well,” Microsoft said in a company statement. “We have maintained throughout this process that the Eolas patent is not valid and today’s ruling is a clear affirmation of our position.”

The University of California has a different perspective. “We regard it as a victory,” said Trey Davis, director of special projects and new media for the university. “We prevailed on issues that were most critical to Microsoft’s argument, namely on the question of damages and patent infringement.”

The patent involved in this case was issued in November 1998 to the University of California. The technology included in the patent was developed by researcher Michael Doyle, who later founded Eolas, which has exclusive rights to use and license the patent. The patent describes “a system allowing a user of a browser program … to access and execute an embedded program object.”