REDMOND, Washington - Microsoft Corp. and TomTom N.V. today announced that they have settled
the patent infringement cases brought by Microsoft before the U.S. District
Court for the Western District of Washington and the International Trade
Commission (ITC) and by TomTom in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia.
(Logo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)
The cases have been settled through a patent agreement under which TomTom
will pay Microsoft for coverage under the eight car navigation and file
management systems patents in the Microsoft case. Also as part of the
agreement, Microsoft receives coverage under the four patents included in the
TomTom countersuit. The agreement, which has a five-year term, does not
require any payment by Microsoft to TomTom. It covers both past and future
U.S. sales of the relevant products. The specific financial terms of the
agreement were not disclosed.
The agreement includes patent coverage for Microsoft’s three file
management systems patents provided in a manner that is fully compliant with
TomTom’s obligations under the General Public License Version 2 (GPLv2).
TomTom will remove from its products the functionality related to two file
management system patents (the “FAT LFN patents”), which enables efficient
naming, organizing, storing and accessing of file data. TomTom will remove
this functionality within two years, and the agreement provides for coverage
directly to TomTom’s end customers under these patents during that time.
Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of
Intellectual Property and Licensing, Microsoft Corporation, stated:
“We are pleased TomTom has chosen to resolve the litigation amicably by
entering into a patent agreement. Our car navigation patents, which are at
the heart of the enhanced auto experience enjoyed by millions of drivers
today, have been licensed to many companies, including leaders in the car
navigation sector. The file management system patents, which increase file
management system efficiency and functionality, have also been licensed by
many companies, including those that produce mixed source products.
We were able to work with TomTom to develop a patent agreement that
addresses their needs and ours in a pragmatic way. When addressing IP
infringement issues, there are two possible paths: securing patent coverage
or not using the technology at issue. Through this agreement, TomTom is
choosing a combination of both paths to meet the unique needs of its
business, and we are glad to help them do so.”
Peter Spours, Director of IP Strategy and Transactions at TomTom N.V.,
stated:
“This agreement puts an end to the litigation between our two companies.
It is drafted in a way that ensures TomTom’s full compliance with its
obligations under the GPLv2, and thus reaffirms our commitment to the open
source community.”
Source: Microsoft Corp.
Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, +1-503-443-7070, rrt at waggeneredstrom.com, for Microsoft; Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO
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