We should always’ve known this was coming when Microsoft went after Motorola for Moto’s supposedly patent-infringing Android devices, and now Ballmer & Co. have their sights set on Barnes & Noble, Foxconn , and Inventec for making and selling the Nook Color . Once more, Microsoft has filed in both the ITC and the Western District of Washington Federal Court claiming that the Android OS infringes its patents, though the patents at issue have dwindled in number from nine to 5 this time around. Allegedly, the Nook Color is riddled with infringing bits from its tab-using web browser and web-document viewing capability to its text selection and book annotation features. Microsoft has resorted to litigation as a brand new means to receives a commission for its patents after year-long licensing negotiations with B&N bore little fruit (unlike people with HTC , who got with the licensing program). So count this as another clear message to manufacturers — Android’s open-source, nevertheless it ain’t free.
Statement from Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice chairman and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing
REDMOND, Wash., March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Microsoft Corp. today filed legal actions within the International Trade Commission and the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington against Barnes & Noble, Inc. and its device manufacturers, Foxconn International Holdings Ltd. and Inventec Corporation, for patent infringement by their Android-based e-reader and tablet devices which can be marketed under the Barnes & Noble brand.
“The Android platform infringes countless Microsoft’s patents, and corporations manufacturing and shipping Android devices must respect our intellectual property rights. To facilitate that we have got established an industry-wide patent licensing program for Android device manufacturers,” said Horacio Gutierrez, Corporate Vice chairman and Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property & Licensing. “Other vendors, including HTC, a market leader in Android smartphones, have taken a license under this program, and now we have tried for over a year to arrive licensing agreements with Barnes & Noble, Foxconn and Inventec. Their refusals to take licenses leave us no choice but to bring legal action to defend our innovations and fulfill our responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of greenbacks we invest per annum to bring great software services and products to market,” he added.
The patents at issue cover a number functionality embodied in Android devices which are necessary to the user experience, including: natural ways of interacting with devices by tabbing through various screens find the ideas they want; surfing the internet more quickly, and interacting with documents and e-books.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
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