Microsoft sues patent troll, saying it broke contract to license mobile tech
Microsoft sued Acacia Research Corp. today, accusing the company of breaking a contract "to license various smartphone and mobile computing technologies to Microsoft," Reuters reported.
The suit was filed in US District Court in New York, but it's currently under seal, which means that details are thin. The Microsoft accusations come in response to recent suits Acacia subsidiaries filed against Microsoft that allege infringement of more than a dozen patents. Acacia filed these lawsuits despite the fact that "in 2010, Microsoft agreed to pay an Acacia subsidiary to license a portfolio of patents related to smartphones and tablets ultimately owned by Tokyo-based Web browser firm Access Co.," Reuters wrote.
"Acacia's lawsuits are the worst kind of abusive litigation behavior, attempting to extract payment based on litigation tactics and not the value of its patents," Microsoft Deputy General Counsel David Howard told Reuters.
