Microsoft is taking legal action against Barnes & Noble for patent infringement by its Nook Android-based eBook reader. The action also includes device manufacturers Foxconn International Holdings and Inventec Corporation. It follows last year’s patent agreement that covered HTC’s mobile phones running the Android platform.
The disputed patents cover a number of functions in the Android user interface.
Horacio Gutierrez, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property & Licensing at Microsoft, said “The Android platform infringes a number of Microsoft’s patents, and companies manufacturing and shipping Android devices must respect our intellectual property rights. To facilitate that we have established an industry-wide patent licensing program for Android device manufacturers. HTC, a market leader in Android smartphones, has taken a license under this program. We have tried for over a year to reach licensing agreements with Barnes & Noble, Foxconn and Inventec. Their refusals to take licenses leave us no choice but to bring legal action to defend our innovations and fulfill our responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year to bring great software products and services to market.”