Microsoft Plays out its Patents in Suing TomTom
Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against TomTom. The navigation systems vendor is allegedly violating eight Microsoft patents, three involving Linux.
A report in TechFlash announced Microsoft's patent claim against the portable GPS car navigation vendor TomTom Inc. The company produces navigation devices based on Linux and the lawsuit alleges that they violated five MS patents, three of them specific to Linux:
- Patent 5,579,517, Common Name Space for Long and Short Filenames, issued November 1996
- Patent 5,758,352, Common Name Space for Long and Short Filenames, issued May 1998
- Patent 6,256,642, Method and System for File System Management Using a Flash-Erasable, Programmable, Read-only Memory, issued July 2001
Microsoft claims that it tried many times to reach an agreement with TomTom over the patent rights. Not hearing from them, Microsoft decided to go ahead with the lawsuit.
The Redmond company has claimed for years that Linux violated around 230 of its patents. How the current three fit into this category only the courts can decide. We'll see if TomTom wants to go so far as to settle outside of them.
Issue 245/2021
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
GNOME 40 Beta has been Released
Anyone looking to test the beta for the upcoming GNOME 40 release can now do so.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 4.2 has Arrived
The latest stable version of OpenMandriva has been released and offers the newest KDE desktop and ARM support.
-
Thunderbird 78 is being ported to Ubuntu 20.04
The Ubuntu developers have made the decision to port the latest release of Thunderbird to the LTS version of the platform.
-
Elementary OS is Bringing Multi-Touch Gestures to the OS
User-friendly Linux distribution, elementary OS, is working to make using the fan-favorite platform even better for laptops.
-
Decade-Old Sudo Flaw Discovered
A vulnerability has been discovered in the Linux sudo command that’s been hiding in plain sight.
-
Another New Linux Laptop has Arrived
Slimbook has released a monster of a Linux gaming laptop.
-
Mozilla VPN Now Available for Linux
The promised subscription-based VPN service from Mozilla is now available for the Linux platform.
-
Wayland and New App Menu Coming to KDE
The 2021 roadmap for the KDE desktop environment includes some exciting features and improvements.
-
Deepin 20.1 has Arrived
Debian-based Deepin 20.1 has been released with some interesting new features.
-
CloudLinux Commits Over 1 Million Dollars to CentOS Replacement
An open source, drop-in replacement for CentOS is on its way.