But it is not the focal point, the company claims

Feb 26, 2009 09:15 GMT  ·  By

A new Microsoft patent-infringement lawsuit, filed on February 25, 2009, by the Redmond company against TomTom NV and Tom Tom, Inc., also involves the Linux open source operating system. The software giant alleges that TomTom, a maker of in-car navigation devices, is violating no less than eight items on its intellectual property roster. While five patent violation claims are related to Microsoft's proprietary software, the remaining three involve the implementation of the Linux kernel into TomTom's products. Microsoft indicated to TechFlash that the open source software portion of the patent infringement lawsuit is not the focal point of the legal action.

Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing revealed that the lawsuit was introduced as Microsoft failed to convince TomTom to jump aboard its patent licensing program. “Microsoft has filed an action today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and in the International Trade Commission (ITC), against TomTom NV and TomTom Inc. for infringement of Microsoft patents. We have taken this action after attempting for more than a year to engage in licensing discussions with TomTom,” he stated.

The move from Microsoft to involve Linux in a patent infringement lawsuit is unprecedented. However, the Redmond company did indicate repeatedly in the past that in its perspective, open source software infringes on no less than 235 of its patents. The claim was made in May 2007 by Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith and Horacio Gutierrez. Since then, the software giant has inked numerous patent deals with various players on the market, including Microsoft’s direct customer patent covenants that cover Linux-based products.

“We have an established intellectual property licensing program, and the patents involved in this case, relating to innovations in car navigation technology and other computing functionality, have been licensed by many others. In situations such as this, when a reasonable business agreement cannot be reached, we have no choice but to pursue legal action to protect our innovations and our partners who license them. Other companies that utilize Microsoft patents have licensed and we are asking TomTom to do the same,” Gutierrez added.

Still, Microsoft emphasized that the door to resolve the conflict out of court remains opened. “TomTom is a highly respected and important company. We remain open to quickly resolving this situation with them through an IP licensing agreement,” Gutierrez stated.