Maine firm sues Microsoft over Windows 8 elements
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - A small local technology company has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Microsoft over elements included in Windows 8.
SurfCast Inc., based in Portland, filed the complaint Tuesday in U.S. District Court asking for unspecified damages.
The lawsuit claims Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp. is using elements known as live tiles, rectangular icons linked to websites, apps and other items. SurfCast says it developed the tiles, referred to on its website as "dynamically updating icons" containing refreshed real-time content, in the 1990s.
Microsoft is using the tiles technology on operating systems including the recently launched Windows 8, found on personal computers, phones, tablets and other devices, the lawsuit claims.
Microsoft said in a statement it's confident it can prove the claims are without merit.
Microsoft has been the target of many lawsuits over the years.
In one high-profile patent dispute, a federal court in Chicago ordered Microsoft to pay $521 million, saying it copied technology developed by the chairman of Eolas Technologies Inc. while he was at the University of California at San Francisco. The university owned the patent, which helps embed small interactive programs, plug-ins or applets, into Web pages, while Eolas had exclusive marketing rights.
The case was settled out of court in 2007 for an undisclosed amount after an appeals court ordered a new trial.
Apple Inc. sued Microsoft in 1988 for copyright infringement, claiming Microsoft copied the "look and feel" of its operating system. Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., lost that case.
SurfCast Inc., based in Portland, filed the complaint Tuesday in U.S. District Court asking for unspecified damages.
The lawsuit claims Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp. is using elements known as live tiles, rectangular icons linked to websites, apps and other items. SurfCast says it developed the tiles, referred to on its website as "dynamically updating icons" containing refreshed real-time content, in the 1990s.
Microsoft is using the tiles technology on operating systems including the recently launched Windows 8, found on personal computers, phones, tablets and other devices, the lawsuit claims.
Microsoft said in a statement it's confident it can prove the claims are without merit.
Microsoft has been the target of many lawsuits over the years.
In one high-profile patent dispute, a federal court in Chicago ordered Microsoft to pay $521 million, saying it copied technology developed by the chairman of Eolas Technologies Inc. while he was at the University of California at San Francisco. The university owned the patent, which helps embed small interactive programs, plug-ins or applets, into Web pages, while Eolas had exclusive marketing rights.
The case was settled out of court in 2007 for an undisclosed amount after an appeals court ordered a new trial.
Apple Inc. sued Microsoft in 1988 for copyright infringement, claiming Microsoft copied the "look and feel" of its operating system. Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., lost that case.
LOL@ SurfCast! Funny they waited until now to file suit over something Microsoft has been doing for a long time. How convenient!
SurfCast.. Never heard of them. Ironic how they suddenly noticed that Microsoft is ripping them off right before MS releases a new OS. I assume that SurfCast wants to settle this out of court for a large cash sum + licencing fees + royalties for every product sold?Â
 @Savage This is what techy people call a patent troll.
 @Savage Betting the scum at SurfCast waited for Windows 8 to launch before filing a lawsuit so IF their 'rights were indeed violated, they could garner a larger settlement. I hope they (MS) win in court because this smells very fishy from here.
Hmmm, looks and works very much like my windows phone from two+ years ago. Why is this news now?
Live Tiles have been around for over 2 years. Â Seems like this company is trying to cash-in on something that wasn't important to them a couple years ago.
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Wouldn't be the first time MS has done this. They'll go to court, argue a little bit, then buy the company.
Much as I dislike Microsoft, I feel that this is the kind of patent infringement suit that should be summarily dismissed. It really is like one car manufacturer suing another one because its cars have wheels too.
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Software patents do more to stifle innovation than anything else - they're not based on the software itself, but on extremely vague, non-computer-science descriptions of the end result. Companies like Microsoft and Google buy up billions of dollars' worth of nearly meaningless patents which which to bludgeon each other, and to destroy small software companies which are actually innovating instead of copying.
Oh this is going to get thrown out of court faster than Surfcast can say 'we invented the rectangle' LOL
http://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/surfcast.com/rate?utm_source=addon&utm_content=warn-rate#top
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yet another parasitic and opportunistic entity surfaces. Surfcast, never heard of them, they aren't producing anything useful but now all of a sudden they are ready to get paid and retire. Welcome to the American dream, or whatever it is reduced to in the year 2012.
 @Larry*X*K Maybe thats why MS figured to get away with copying their stuff!
Looks like MS didn't cross its T's or dot its i's.
Did they wait for the official launch on purpose? They must have seen the Windows Phone before, and the betas and RCs... leech tactics
Is it just me or is Windows 8 confusing to use? There is no minimize button...no exit button on a program. the URL window is at the bottom....
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arggghhhhhhhhh
 @Vince Grab the windows at the top and drag it to the bottom to exit an application. Or even easier just hit the Window key/button. The app "goes away" into a suspended mode.
@Vince This review hits the nail on the head: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0fsyb-ttcw While I think Metro is nice-looking it has no business being on any computer without a touch screen. Fortunately there are already 3rd party solutions that put a familiar Start menu back in Windows 8.
@nodozr The only thing nailed in this review is when one of the reviewers correctly states "I don't even know." This is a smear campaign, not a review.Â
 @Vince And then there is this
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2411454,00.asp
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 @Vince ALT+CTRL+DEL does it all... Has been Microsofts most important key combination since DOS 1.0
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@Komo Dragon @Vince Alt+F4 usually gets you there too. Do it from the Desktop, and you'll actually see a Windows 8 shutdown menu.
@Komo Dragon @Vince - ah how out of touch you really are in your attempt at insulting Windows.  1) it's actually expressed as CTRL+ALT+DEL  2) Since Windows NT came on the scene, that combination no longer reboots your system.  3) the only thing that CTRL+ALT+DEL does is take you to either the logon screen or the screen where you can (if already logged on) lock the screen, start task manager, log off or change your password. So, at least since Windows NT, it actually has been an important key combination.Â
@Vince I've been a pretty harsh critic of Windows 8 but dl'ed and installed it on one of my laptops because I was eligible to get an upgrade for less than $20. I don't think it's all that bad. It loads very fast and has very appealing visual effects. Where it gets confusing, in my opinion, is that MS decided that the old desktop is not a user environment itself but merely a component of larger environment. The difficulty in using Windows 8, I believe, is that Microsoft did a lot of arbitrary things to enforce this new concept. For example, all the overlap between the desktop and the tiled Start screen, which I guess is supposed to succeed the old desktop Start menu. There are plenty of resources out there like makeuseof.com that can provide tips and tricks to get familiar with Windows 8. Although I still don't see the need for it, the appeal of the user interface is pretty apparent to me now.
Tablet software maybe.... Laptops and desk tops no way! And now a lawsuit... Microsoft missed the boat once again... Windows Vista type software nobody wants anyways... (my opinion) Windows 8 most likely will go down in flames...
 @Funky-Munky Actually, I have HAPPILY replaced Vista with Windows 8!
Let the lawsuits begin!Â