IDG News Service - GPS device maker TomTom has shot back at Microsoft with a claim of patent infringement, after the software giant raised concerns in the Linux community with a recent lawsuit against TomTom.

In a suit filed earlier this week, TomTom alleges that Microsoft infringes on four patents in Microsoft Streets and Trips. The product is mapping software that runs on computers and can be used with a small GPS receiver that connects to a laptop. TomTom is asking for triple damages for willful infringement, since it says it had notified Microsoft about its alleged infringement.

Microsoft said it was reviewing TomTom's filing and that it remains committed to a licensing solution and has been for more than a year.

The suit comes on the heels of one Microsoft filed against TomTom in late February, accusing it of infringing on eight patents, including some that describe technology found in a version of the Linux OS that TomTom uses.

That concerned Linux supporters, who worried that Microsoft might make good on past statements that it owns many patents for technologies used in Linux. But Microsoft said open source is not the focal point of its suit against TomTom. The case is about TomTom's specific implementation of the Linux kernel, Microsoft said.

TomTom filed its suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Microsoft's suit was filed in the District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

Comment Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

GPS device maker TomTom has shot back at Microsoft with a claim of patent infringement

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER

Do You Know the 7 Steps to Successful Data Migration?

Approximately 60 percent of data migration projects overrun time or budget, while some fail completely. Download this white paper, "Enhancing Your Chance for Successful Data Migration," to learn the critical steps you need to take to execute a data migration project with minimum cost and risk to your business.

WHITE PAPER

Total Cost of Ownership of Server Computing Vs. PCs

Read the Gartner research note to learn why the TCO of a server-based computing deployment used to deliver all applications to users is around 50% lower than that of an unmanaged desktop deployment.

WHITE PAPER

IDC White Paper: Linux in a Global Recession

Economic downturns have a tendency to accelerate emerging technologies, boost the adoption of effective solutions, and punish solutions that are not cost competitive or that are out of synch with industry trends. This IDC White Paper presents the results of an IDC survey of 330 companies in Western Europe, Asia/Pacific and the Americas that measures the receptiveness to Linux and takes into consideration changing views driven by the disruptive economic environment that businesses face today.