TomTom countersues Microsoft in patent dispute

Updated at 3:30 p.m. PDT with additional detail and to correct the filing date for TomTom's suit, which was Monday.

TomTom has responded to Microsoft's patent suit by filing a patent claim of its own against the software maker.

The GPS device maker, based in The Netherlands, filed the countersuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Monday. TomTom says Microsoft's Streets and Trips products infringe on four patents it owns related to vehicle navigation software.

In a statement, Microsoft lawyer Horacio Gutierrez said the company is still in the process of reviewing TomTom's court filing.

"As has been the case for more than a year, we remain committed to a licensing solution, although we will continue to press ahead with the complaints we initiated in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and the International Trade Commission."

Microsoft sued TomTom in late February, accusing the company of infringing on eight patents. The suit was notable because it included, for the first time in a court filing, Microsoft's long-asserted position that the Linux kernel infringes on Microsoft patents.

[t8]

Microsoft = SCO2.

Bring it on.

[gggg sssss]

hardly

[spacydog]

Meh, more frivolous lawsuits. These companies should just settle through arbitration, IMO.

[d23j]

Except that they can't. If Tom-Tom were to settle with Microsoft and license the patents in dispute, they would not be able to use the Linux kernel, as it prohibits this.

[3147]

Actually, Microsoft's patents are nothing to do with Linux. One is to do with FAT truncated filenames, which is part of FAT filesystem support which can be used in a Linux system, but isn't part of Linux and can easily be removed or changed, another is to do with driving instructions.

Microsoft is not trying to collect royalty money from its patents. What Microsoft is doing is suing companies who use Linux in order to force them to sign an agreement that Microsoft can then leverage to form a cartel which it can manipulate with the strings attached to the agreement in order to prevent the adoption of Linux (as it currently does with PC OEM manufacturers).

What Microsoft is afraid of is ARM based Linux netbooks, which Windows cannot run on, which will be cheaper, give much longer battery life than ix86 based netbooks, and which will bridge the gap between netbooks and mobiles. Coming at the same time as mobile broadband, this promises to do serious damage to Microsoft's desktop monopoly, and Microsoft knows it. That is why Microsoft is acting now after long talking about patent suits.

[TheSmellyMoa]

This, ultimately, is all that will be left to MSFT. Linux will take off in a trillion incarnations. MSFT will sue everyone and computing will be held up for 60 years while the bank accounts are drained.

[MMC Racing]

Year 20 of Linux taking over the world.. *chuckle*

[slickuser]

Go ahead you guys fight in the court!

Ultimately, users will use iPhone as a GPS device!!

[random truth]

Correction: they will use tomtoms app

[Papa Chango]

>As has been the case for more than a year, we remain committed to a licensing solution

Licensing solution? Sounds like extortion plain and simple.
They did it with Novell and others "Linux has stolen our IP and you are guilty. However, if you pay us money we promise not to sue you." And the beautiful part of this FUD game is that you have to prove nothing, Is that a gun in your pocket or just your finger? Its really the same thing if you THINK my finger is a gun.
They've done it with Brother and other manufacturers and are in a way taxing the companies who use Linux.

Of course, NOTHING has changed in the past 24 months. The head of Microsoft hasnt changed his stance one centimeter but a few low level managers are saying nice things and they are throwing a few pennies at some conferences and open source projects (never of course, anything to do with copyleft licenses like the GPL) and its enough for some to forget even recent history and claim that things have changed.
How often do you follow the lead of Steve Jobs when you want to know where Apple stands and how often do you listen to some pencil pusher?

So why should we believe that Microsoft has changed its stance since its "Linux stole 235 of our patents but we wont say which ones"?
Nothing has changed since Ballmer has claimed that Red Hat users owe Microsoft money (and in the same clip reminds people who it was who signed their extortion deal and is the only 'legal' Linux) in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B0GTYfPoMo

We've seen all those recently released court documents which show the internal messages from Gates, Ballmer and other top brass and the lengths they go to make sure that the 'cancer' doenst win.
We know all of their legendary methods and those documents show that the worst case scenario about Microsoft is usually the right one.

Those who know the Scorpion and the Frog parable know that the scorpion cant change its nature.

[Dalkorian]

I see you have a sharp and keen memory. To bad it's so rare in today's world.

[gggg sssss]

Linux = SCO2

[Shannon_VanWagner]

Good to see them standing up for themselves. Hopefully Big Blue, Google, or some other very large FOSS using organization will help the little guy out. It would be like the way Redmond supposedly helped SCO su Linux, except this time it would be for the greater good of humankind moving forward with technology. If Redmond were truly as honorable as they say, they'd open source the FAT filesystem and contribute it to boosting interoperable standards. This type of litigation is really cheap... especially since FAT has been used in so many different devices as the 'de facto' standard already for many years without threat of being sued.

In the name of open/interoperable standards and the advancement of technology, It's time to break the glass!!

humans enabled - that's what technology is all about! Down with companies that retard advancement for trying to reassert monopoly.

[Aus_Engineer]

ITs funny how when MS does it they are terrible, but when TomTom does the same thing, they are hero's.

BTW: how is TomTom able to usethe GPL if they have patentend in their code ???

Does that not mean they are in breach of the GPL, and have now admitted it ??

[screamapillar]

Because M$ are anti-competitive scumbags that need to be brought down a notch. They use bullying tactics to get their own way and constant lawsuits with a mutlitude of appeals that they fund with bottomless pits in a war of attritian against their opponent. It doesn't matter if M$ are wrong in their claims, they will win because they opponent will not be able to afford the next appeal to a higher court and then another and then another. It is these utterly unethical anti-competitive legal-system exploitative methods that have led me to deduce my 'scumbags' assertion. M$ aren't the only scumbags, not by a longshot. But it is nice to see any of the scumbags get some of their own medicine now and again.

[JCPayne]

@Aus_Engineer The problem is Microsoft has this habit. They sue somebody and say--- You're using my patent. When the so called offender says okay- well what is the patent? Microsoft says uh--- can't tell ya... This cycle goes round and round until the company gets fete up and settles...

[DrtyDogg]

Actually the patent is listed in the law suit. You see they have to disclose the patent when they file a suit.

[ahickey]

Maybe it's time for the manufacturers to go with a different file system. I expect there are a few out there that will work. It might need a small app to be installed first time, but that shouldn?t be too big a deal especially for something like a GPS where the data on the card is read by a device and not a person. Might be a bit more awkward when you are storing your own files and need to install an app on each system you want to access the files from.

On a different note. FAT has been used on devices for years. My (very limited) understanding is that you have to vigorously defend your patents otherwise they become common usage. Has Microsoft left it too late.

[DrtyDogg]

The patent isn't on the FAT file system. It is actually more on a work-around of FATs limitations, dealing with long file names and such.

[Dalkorian]

Go TomTom!

[rollaire2]

Wow dude that is insane! Sue sue sue, sue sue sue and no shortage of bottm feeding, blood sucking attorneys to jump on the gravy train!
RT
www.online-privacy.pro.tc

[screamapillar]

Yes I just have that image from the Simpsons of what the world would be like with lawyers... everyone holding hands and a rainbow in the background... me out of a job yikes!

[user78405]

it looks like the government has to step in to file a big lawsuit against Microsoft again it will be the first one for Steve Ballmer if continued to abused the court system.