In an 84-page document (PDF) filed last night with a federal appeals court, Microsoft lays out its argument against a patent verdict that would prevent the company selling its widely used Word software starting next month. Microsoft argues that U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Davis in Texas erred in upholding, and adding to, a jury verdict that the company describes as a riddled with mistakes.

"This is not justice," lawyers for Microsoft write in the opening brief. They continue:

"If district courts are free to admit theories of infringement that nullify a patent’s claim terms, specification, prosecution history, and title; if they will allow an inventor to validate his patent by testifying without corroboration that he lied about the date of conception; if they will not intercede to preclude manifestly unreliable -- indeed, concededly manipulated -- surveys of infringing use, or Georgia-Pacific analyses based on “benchmarks” bearing no rational relationship to the accused product, then patent litigation will be reduced to a free-for-all, unbounded by the requirements of the substantive law or the rules of evidence or trial procedure. While that mode of dispute resolution might enrich some plaintiffs and their investors, it hardly can be said to 'promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts.' "

That last part is a quote from the Copyright and Patent Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Microsoft's filing comes in advance of a Sept. 23 hearing. Toronto-based i4i Inc., which brought the case, has defended the $290 million verdict and called it an important case for the rights of patent holders. We've contacted i4i this morning for comment on Microsoft's latest filing, and we'll update this post with the response. The company is scheduled to file a formal reply to Microsoft's brief by Sept. 7.

Update: In a statement issued this afternoon, i4i Chairman Loudon Owen called Microsoft's appeal brief an "extraordinary document." Owen added, "It captures the hostile attitude of Microsoft toward inventors who dare to enforce patents against them. It is also blatantly derogatory about the Court system." He continued:

“We sought and received the protection of the court so we can compete on a level playing field, and run our business without infringement by the Defendant Microsoft. Microsoft was proven to have willfully infringed on i4i’s patent. ... We do not have the gargantuan financial resources of Microsoft, but i4i has the protection of fairness under the U.S. justice system. Microsoft is not above the law. It cannot privately expropriate i4i’s patented invention ... We firmly believe the decision of the jury and judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas was correct on the facts and we shall prevail on appeal.”

Stay tuned for more on this case as it progresses toward the Sept. 23 hearing.