After a federal jury handed down the biggest patent infringement verdict ever, a federal judge has thrown out the verdict, ruling as a matter of law that Microsoft didn't infringe Alcatel-Lucent's MP3 patents, CNET News.com reports.

The judge dismissed all 19 of the claims made by Alcatel-Lucent, which plans to appeal and is "comfortable with our chances of success as the case makes its way through the legal system", spokeswoman Joan Campion said.

Microsoft deputy general counsel Tom Burt said the ruling "reaffirms our confidence that once there's judicial review of these complex patent cases, these Alcatel-Lucent claims ultimately won't stand up."

Don't worry, there's plenty more patent action. A new trial between the two over user interface patents starts May 21.