New York - Software giant Microsoft has been ordered to pay 388 million dollars in damages for infringing on a patent designed to combat illegal copying of software.

A jury in the District Court of Rhode Island found that Microsoft violated a patent owned by anti-piracy software maker Uniloc Inc with software designed to prevent unlicensed use of its Windows XP Windows operating system and parts of its Office suite of products. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2003 and the jury returned its decision on Wednesday, according to court papers filed Thursday.

The patent in question is titled "System for Software Recognition," and was filed in 1996. It covers a registration system that allows digital data or software to be able to run only if an appropriate licensing procedure has been followed.

In a statement Microsoft said it was disappointed in the verdict, and planned to appeal.

"We believe that we do not infringe, that the patent is invalid and that this award of damages is legally and factually unsupported," said a Microsoft spokesman in a statement. "We will ask the court to overturn the verdict."