Microsoft goes to court over mouse patents

[Metropolitanjury]

Microsoft alleges that a rival maker of computer mice has wrongly made use of its patented hardware technologies and refused to license them.

In a complaint filed Wednesday with the U.S. International Trade Commission (PDF, 33 pages), Microsoft alleges that Primax Electronics Ltd. of Taiwan is selling computer mice that violate seven of its patents. The complaint seeks to prevent Primax from selling the products in the U.S.

Microsoft also is expected to file suit in U.S. District Court, seeking damages.

The patents in dispute relate to Microsoft's tilt wheel technique, which lets users tilt the scroll wheel on a mouse or keyboard to maneuver the cursor on screen; and its "U2" technology, an automated technique for connecting a mouse to a computer using either USB or PS/2 ports, two types of interfaces for peripherals.

Efforts to reach a Primax representative were unsuccessful Wednesday evening.

More than 20 other companies have licensed the technologies in question, said Horacio Gutierrez, a Microsoft vice president and deputy general counsel for intellectual property and licensing. Microsoft previously took peripheral maker Belkin to court over the U2 technology, resulting in a settlement, but it's uncommon for the company to pursue such actions, Gutierrez said. Microsoft prefers to reach licensing deals. The company is more commonly a target of patent-infringement claims.

Gutierrez said Primax hasn't offered any justification for not entering a patent agreement. "We've over two years repeatedly approached them, to engage in good-faith negotiations, and they've just refused to have any meaningful conversations," he said. "There isn't a question of the validity of the patents.

There isn't an argument of non-infringement. They've just refused to have the conversation."

By Ms.Bobby Aanand, Metropolitan Jury