14 DAY TRIAL // It’s not a secret that patent trolls are often targeting tech giants for what they claim to be violation of patents covering technology they invented, but in Microsoft’s latest case, it appears to be serious business.
The software giant is dragged to court by Connecticut-based HoloTouch, who says it invented a holographic light switch that makes it possible to operate a number of controls that simply float in the air. This means several tasks can be activated virtually without direct contact, with a number of applications already in place in hospitals to prevent contamination.
HoloTouch said in a recent lawsuit filed against Microsoft that Redmond violates patents that they’ve been granted in 2002 and 2014 for what they describe as a human-machine interface technology.
One of the patents describes a “means by which an operator may control one or more devices without touching a solid control object or surface while still interacting with familiar controls that are visually perceived, such as a keyboard,” as reported by MSPU, while another one discusses “the reduction of the power consumption, size and weight of conventional holographic HMI.”
Microsoft was approached with the ideas
What’s more interesting is that HoloTouch says it has actually contacted Microsoft in 2006 to discuss the technology, but the firm instead said it wasn’t interested in such a project. Further discussions took place in 2015 and 2016 when HoloLens was already a sure thing, but once again, no agreement was signed.
The Connecticut firm suggests that Microsoft violated all these patents and stole their ideas especially following the negotiations between them in the previous years, and is now seeking damages.
The software giant hasn’t issued any statement on this, but the company certainly saw this coming if it was indeed involved in talks with HoloTouch. In most cases when patent violation is cited, companies prefer to stay quiet just in case a settlement is possible, so don’t expect Microsoft to share any specifics just yet.