Following a court battle with Uniloc regarding an anti-piracy patent has resulted in Microsoft being ordered by a jury to pay $388 million in damages.

The case was originally filed way back in October 2003, with the initial trial resulting in a victory for Microsoft. Uniloc appealed this decision, their reasoning being that Microsoft’s witness that was instrumental to their victory had conflicting interests. The appeal must’ve had some merit, as Uniloc ended up winning the second trial – at the expense of Microsoft.

“We are very disappointed in the jury verdict”

says Microsoft spokesperson David Bowermaster,

“We believe that we do not infringe, that the patent is invalid and that this award of damages is legally and factually unsupported. We will ask the court to overturn the verdict.”

So it looks like an appeal from Microsoft is likely to result in yet another extension of the court case later this year.

The news brought a slight drop in Microsoft shares, down to $19.19 from after-hours trading,  from a high of $19.62.