(22-Dec-09) A U.S. federal appeals court upheld a ruling against Microsoft Corp. Tuesday, ordering the software giant to pay $290 million to Canadian software firm i4i Inc. in a long-running patent dispute. The court injunction will also prevent the sale of Microsoft's popular Word product after patented i4i material was found in the company's word processing software. Prohibit sales The ruling will prohibit the sale of all currently available versions of Word and Microsoft Office 2007 editions after Jan. 11. "I4i is especially pleased with the court's decision to uphold the injunction, an important step in protecting the property rights of small inventors," said i4i founder Michel Vulpe in a statement.