TomTom Countersues Microsoft for Patent Infringement

In an interesting turn of events, TomTom has countersued Microsoft for patent infringement.

Microsoft sued TomTom in February claiming the GPS device maker infringed on Microsoft's patents. TomTom, obviously thinking that turnabout is fair play, has in turned leveled its own lawsuit against the software giant.

Indeed, TomTom is alleging in its suit, filed on March 16, that Microsoft infringes with its Streets and Trips program on four TomTom patents.

Mary Jo Foley, in the All About Microsoft blog, said:

"Microsoft sued TomTom for allegedly infringing on eight of its patents. Three of those patents centered around FAT, Microsoft’s patented file-allocation-table technology — and TomTom’s implementation in the Linux kernel involving FAT."

Meanwhile, according to Silicon Alley Insider:

"An army of Linux crazies ranting endlessly about the 'evil' of Microsoft is the last thing the company needs as it prepares a host of new products for market like Windows 7, Kumo, and Azure. It's also worth noting that Microsoft has the best lawyers money can buy, so if TomTom really forces the dispute to trial, there's a good chance Linux can lose, with tough precedents set for the entire open source community."

Open-source leaders weighed in on the original Microsoft lawsuit in a recent eWEEK article on the legal battle.