Microsoft has filed a patent infringement suit against portable navigation device manufacturer TomTom, alleging the Netherlands-based company infringes upon eight of its patents.
According to documentation filed with the United States District Court in Seattle and the International Trade Commission, five of the patents are related to in-car navigational technologies while three are related to TomTom’s implementation of the Linux kernel in relation to file management.
This is the first time Microsoft has filed suit in relation to the open-source Linux operating system which the software maker has long maintained has components that infringe upon its intellectual property.
While this suit is bound to attract negative attention from the open-source community, especially with its history of friction with the proprietary Microsoft, the company says the suit can be settled out of court if TomTom licenses the technology in question.
It seems unlikely though given that the two companies have apparently been in talks to remedy the situation for over a year.
Here are the official court documents filed with the District Court (PDF) and the International Trade Commission (PDF).
