Researchers win case against Microsoft

n Arizona judge has ruled against Microsoft Corporation in an patent infringement case involving technology developed by two University scientists. The technology, called "Blue Noise Mask," makes possible the rapid creation of high-quality halftone images.

The decision, in addition to a prior ruling favorable to the University, could affect many of Microsoft's most well-know products, including Windows 2000, Windows XP, Office 2000, and Office XP, among others.

Engineers Kevin Parker, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Theophano Mitsa, now an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts, developed the technology in the early 1990s. The pair began their project in an effort to improve the printouts of ultrasound images but soon found the technology could eliminate artifacts in other images as well.

"This research is a great example of the unforeseen benefits of basic research at a university," Parker has previously noted. "What started out as a medical imaging research project ended up as a technology that improves printing speed and quality in printers throughout the world."

The technology is the subject of six U.S. patents and several international patents, filed and owned by Research Corporation Technologies (RCT), a company that invests in and commercializes university-based research. The University assigned ownership of the patents to RCT, which manages this technology and markets it to the computer and printing industry. Many companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark International, and Seiko-Epson, have licensed the technology, which is widely used in the computing graphic arts and printing industry around the world.

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