A federal appeals court reinstated a 2009 jury verdict Tuesday that Microsoft Corp. infringed on patents held by software maker Uniloc Inc., reversing a judge's decision to the contrary, but it also granted Microsoft a new trial on damages.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said the jury's April 2009 verdict on patent infringement was supported by "substantial" evidence, so it reversed a federal judge's decision in September of that year that overturned the jury's verdict.

Irvine, Calif.-based Uniloc makes software that prevents people from illegally installing software on multiple computers. In a lawsuit filed in 2003, Uniloc argued that Microsoft's "product activation" system used in Windows XP, Office XP and Office 2003 programs infringed on several parts of a related patent, and that the software maker had copied Uniloc's technology rather than develop similar work on its own.

The jury in 2009 had found this to be the case, and awarded Uniloc $388 million in damages. On Tuesday, the appeals court agreed on the patent infringement but called the jury's damages award "fundamentally tainted," and granted a new trial on the damages.

In a statement, Microsoft Vice President and Deputy General Counsel David Howard called the ruling an "an important and helpful opinion with respect to the law of damages, and it may signal the end of unreasonable and outsized damages awards based on faulty methodology."

A TV meteorologist told police she concocted claims of being attacked because she was under personal and professional stress and wanted attention, a court document released Wednesday shows.

Heidi Jones said nothing as she appeared briefly in a Manhattan court Wednesday to answer misdemeanor charges of false reporting. Her lawyer, Paul F. Callan, said she would fight the charges and had been "unfairly characterized and vilified" in some press reports on her case.

Jones, who has been suspended from her job at New York's local ABC station, told police Dec. 1 that she'd been attacked in Central Park in September and then again outside her apartment in November, according to a court complaint prosecutors filed Wednesday.

Police have said she told them the same man targeted her both times — the first time while she ran in the park — and she provided a detailed description including the alleged attacker's race, height and clothing.

A detective unit that specializes in investigating sex crimes spoke to possible witnesses and canvassed the area to look for a suspect. Callan has said Jones never told police she was the victim of a rape but has declined to elaborate on what she did say to investigators.

Two San Francisco newspapers engaged in a lengthy legal battle over predatory pricing have settled their dispute outside of court.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Bay Guardian and SF Weekly announced a settlement Monday but did not disclose its terms.

The Guardian filed an antitrust lawsuit against SF Weekly in 2004, accusing the paper of slashing advertising prices to drive the Guardian out of business. A San Francisco judge in 2008 ordered SF Weekly to pay $21 million to its rival.

SF Weekly has said its low-cost ads reflected fair competition and did not violate antitrust laws.

Both alternative weeklies are distributed for free and rely on ad revenue to continue operating.

The California Supreme Court's refusal affirms a Bay Area Air Quality Management District limit on burning wood, fire logs or wood pellets on nights when air quality is expected to exceed public health standards.

The appeal was brought by Duraflame Inc., which argued that its logs burn cleaner than other fuel types and should be exempt from the ban.

Duraflame appealed to California's high court after losses in both Alameda County Superior Court and a state appeals court.

An attorney charged with stealing $99,000 from two elderly couples he represented has met a judge's deadline to appear in court for trial.

Fifty-three-year-old Mark Morrison didn't appear for trial Monday after his attorney said he couldn't arrange for an ambulance to bring the bedridden counselor to the Fayette County Courthouse.

But the Herald-Standard newspaper in Uniontown is reporting that County Judge Steve Leskinen believes that Monday's delay and some related motions may be a last-ditch attempt to put off the trial that has been pending since 2006.

Leskinen has found Morrison competent to stand trial even though the attorney showed up on a gurney and claimed to be unable to speak during a competency hearing in November.

The judge's staff says Morrison arrived in court Tuesday morning.

Davis left politics behind after leaving his position as the congressman for the 7^th Congressional District for a bid for the Alabama governor's office. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by Ron Sparks.

After the defeat, Davis told the media he was done with politics and would return to practicing law.

Davis will join SNR Denton's White Collar and Government Investigation teams.