Strike/Counterstrike: TomTom Sues Microsoft

Posted by Andy_Updegrove on Mar 21, 2009 5:33 AM EDT
ConsortiumInfo.org Standards Blog; By Andy Updegrove 		Mail this story
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It would be an understatement to say that Microsoft's patent suit against Dutch GPS vendor company TomTom has been closely watched. Why? Because Microsoft alleges that several of the patents at issue are infringed by TomTom's implementation of the Linux kernel. In this first month of the dispute, the most urgent question has been this: will TomTom fight or fold?

Now we have the answer: TomTom has decided to fight - and perhaps fight hard. Yesterday, it brought its own suit against Microsoft in a Virginia court, alleging that Microsoft is guilty of infringing several of TomTom's own patents.

The question that many Linux supporters are now asking is this: is this good news for Linux, or bad? The answer, I believe, is that it is good news. By fighting, TomTom will focus attention on Microsoft's (at best) schizophrenic strategy relating to open source software.

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