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Barnes & Noble Accuses Microsoft of Patent Law Misuse
Barnes & Noble has accused Microsoft of misusing patent law to thwart rivals to its Windows Phone 7 business by requiring them to, “pay exorbitant licensing fees or face protracted and expensive patent infringement litigation”, and that Microsoft is asserting patent claims over, “arbitrary, outmoded, or non-essential design features.”
Barnes & Noble’s accusation was in response to a suit filed by Microsoft against Barnes & Noble before the International Trade Commission and the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington. Microsoft had alleged that Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-reader violates its patents covering the way users tab through various screens to find information, as well as the way users interact with documents and e-books.
The Microsoft lawsuit is part of Microsoft’s broader campaign against Google’s Android operating system, which the Nook runs.
Microsoft suggests that Barnes & Noble is diverting attention from the allegations of patent infringement.
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http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20057914-75.html#ixzz1LClrVzLM