Microsoft sues Android

Microsoft has long claimed some intellectual property when it comes to open source operating systems, and at the time many advocates have asked the company to put up or shut up.

It seems Microsoft has finally decided to do just that, taking Motorola to court for alleged patent infringements in “synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.”

Microsoft long maintained Android is not really free, and has so far been able to claim payments for using the OS from HTC.  It seems Motorola has not been as amenable to persuasion.

See Microsoft’s press release after the break.

Microsoft Files Patent Infringement Action Against Motorola

REDMOND, Wash. – Oct. 1, 2010 – Microsoft Corp. today filed a patent infringement action against Motorola, Inc. and issued the following statement from Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing:

"Microsoft filed an action today in the International Trade Commission and in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against Motorola, Inc. for infringement of nine Microsoft patents by Motorola’s Android-based smartphones. The patents at issue relate to a range of functionality embodied in Motorola’s Android smartphone devices that are essential to the smartphone user experience, including synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.

We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market. Motorola needs to stop its infringement of our patented inventions in its Android smartphones."

While we are not fans of obvious patents and patent trolls, having the claims tested in court is much more above board than the quiet backroom deals Microsoft has been engaging in with regards to open source software over the last decade, so its not completely a bad thing.

Via Engadget.com