Yes the rumors in the blogosphere are true! Microsoft has sued TomTom, the popular maker of portable gps navigation devices. They filed lawsuits with US district court and the Nation Trade Commission against TomTom because they say the company has infringed on its software patents.
Supposedly the Microsoft patents include vehicle navigation technology and computer software that Microsoft licenses to other firms. Although TomTom has nothing to say right now on this issue, Microsoft had plenty to say. Horacio Gutierrez is the Deputy Counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing at Microsoft. Here are his comments:
“We have taken this action after attempting for more than a year to engage in licensing discussions with TomTom.”
“In situations such as this, when a reasonable business agreement cannot be reached, we have no choice but to pursue legal action to protect our innovations and our partners who license them.”
“TomTom is a highly respected and important company. We remain open to quickly resolving this situation with them through an IP licensing agreement.”
We are very intersted in what TomTom will have to say on the pending lawsuits. Stay tuned here for all GPS news, reviews, and rumors.
Tags: gps device, navigation, portable gps, portable gps device, Tom Tom
Supposedly the Microsoft patents include vehicle navigation technology and computer software that Microsoft licenses to other firms. Although TomTom has nothing to say right now on this issue, Microsoft had plenty to say. Horacio Gutierrez is the Deputy Counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing at Microsoft. Here are his comments:
“We have taken this action after attempting for more than a year to engage in licensing discussions with TomTom.”
“In situations such as this, when a reasonable business agreement cannot be reached, we have no choice but to pursue legal action to protect our innovations and our partners who license them.”
“TomTom is a highly respected and important company. We remain open to quickly resolving this situation with them through an IP licensing agreement.”
We are very intersted in what TomTom will have to say on the pending lawsuits. Stay tuned here for all GPS news, reviews, and rumors.
Tags: gps device, navigation, portable gps, portable gps device, Tom Tom
I wonder what TomTom will do, too. I didn't know about this. Thanks for the post!
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