Microsoft defending OneDrive from new patent troll

Many years ago Microsoft’s cloud storage solution had a run-in with the court and was forced to change its name from SkyDrive to OneDrive.

Now the company is fighting a rather more fundamental battle after a company called SynKloud started going after Microsoft’s commercial OneDrive customers claiming patent infringement.

Microsoft claims that SynKloud “has launched a litigation campaign” based on the patents. The company recently sued HP for including OneDrive in some of its products.

In the complaint, Microsoft notes that “SynKloud intends to enforce its patent portfolio broadly and generically against the entire cloud storage industry, and against Microsoft products specifically.”

Microsoft has now filed a suit asking a Delaware court to make an affirmative judgement that OneDrive cloud storage software does not infringe on a group of SynKloud patents.

Like most patent trolls, SynKloud does not actually make any products and is merely a patent license holding company.  The patents in question appear to be merely for the ability to access external storage on a wireless device. Hopefully, the court can rapidly come to the correct solution for this question.

Via SeekingAlpha