San Francisco - A federal appeals court has overturned a $1.5 billion damages award that Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) had been ordered to pay France's Alcatel-Lucent over patents related to MP3 technology, CNET News.com reported.

Paris - French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Penn State University to jointly develop a mobile video social networking application. The Alcatel-Lucent-funded project will focus on the development of a mobile phone interface that lets users view video files as a collage of multiple simultaneous feeds. "This project will offer valuable insights into other mobile applications, particularly those involving the concept of 'hyperconnectivity' or the idea that everything can be connected to produce a multifaceted quality user experience," said Lee C. Giles, Ph.D., Professor of Information Science and Technology at Penn State.

Englewood, Colo. - DISH Network Corp. announced on Thursday that it has partnered with French telecommunications equipment firm Alcatel-Lucent to conduct a test of technology that transmits satellite TV signals to handheld devices this summer. The companies will test the performance and cost efficiency of the DVB-SH mobile broadcast standard.

San Diego - A federal judge has reversed a ruling that would have forced Microsoft to pay $1.53 billion in damages to Alcatel-Lucent for infringing MP3-related patents.

New York - Microsoft has been ordered by a federal jury to pay $1.52 billion in damages to Alcatel-Lucent, for infringing on the company's digital music patents.

Paris - Telco equipment provider Alcatel-Lucent said on Thursday that it has partnered with wireless carrier Telefonica on a pilot project for mobile interactive multimedia services in Spain. Results from the six-month pilot of mobile TV, radio and music services, launched in October, are slated to be presented next week at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona.