U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster in San Diego said today that the jury's damage award couldn't stand because one of the two patents wasn't infringed. The second disputed patent was co- owned by a German research institute and Microsoft had a valid license, Brewster ruled.

The jury decided in February that Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft must pay $1.52 billion for violating Paris-based Alcatel's rights to the inventions, the largest patent verdict in U.S. history. The two sides argued in court in July over whether the verdict should stand.

``The jury's verdict was against the clear weight of the evidence,'' Brewster wrote in his 43-page order.

Alcatel-Lucent, the world's largest maker of telecommunications equipment, argued the record damage award was fair and reasonable and ought to be increased because it covered sales only through November 2005.

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