Late last month Microsoft took a stick to a hornets’ nest when it announced that it was suing for alleged copyright infringement by TomTom International BV, a major player in the open source business community and maker of Linux-based GPS devices.  In total, it says that TomTom infringed on 8 GPS-based patents it holds. 

Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of intellectual property and licensing insists that the lawsuit isn't an attack on open source.  He states, "(While) three of the infringed patents implicate open-source code ... open-source software is not the focal point of this action."

Still many in the open-source community perceived it as one of several recent signs that Microsoft is trying to take down Linux and the open-source movement.  States Andrew Updegrove, a partner at Boston law firm Gesmer Updegrove LLP, "I've received e-mail in the past from people that Microsoft has approached, alleging Linux infringement and saying 'You better get a license from us, or else.'"

The move puzzled Mr. Updegrove, who points out, "(It) doesn't make sense to me, because I can't think of any reason why they should move now and several reasons why they should not: the European Union is still on their tail regarding browsers (and Google just joined in against them), and there's a new administration in town in Washington -- why test them at this point in time, rather than lie low and watch for awhile and see whether antitrust enforcement is back in town?"

Many in the open-source community have spoken up and said that if Microsoft wants a fight, it will have one.  The open-source community owns a great deal of IP and has strong cases to prior art on many other commonly used software concepts and hardware devices.

TomTom itself is looking to lead the charge to beat back the latest round of Microsoft aggression. Early this week, it filed a countersuit against Microsoft.  The countersuit accuses Microsoft's Streets and Trips software of infringing on four TomTom patents.  The Microsoft software runs a computer program with maps, which can connect to a small GPS receiver -- technology which TomTom holds patents on.

In retaliation to Microsoft's legal first-strike, TomTom is taking its suit a step further, accusing Microsoft of willful infringement, saying it had previously asked Microsoft to desist and was met with refusal.  It is seeking three times the normal damages as a result.

Microsoft appears to be backing off a bit from the hornets' nest its riled, as a Microsoft spokesman issued a statement that it is reviewing the TomTom filing and is (and has been) committed to licensing TomTom's IP.  However, the statement may just be an effort to try to provide Microsoft's perspective in lieu of a prospective court battle.

TomTom's suit is ongoing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, while Microsoft filed its suit in the District Court for the Western District of Washington, an area where it has many close connections.