Microsoft sued for patent suit over .Net

Vertical Computer Systems Incorporated filed a suit on April 18 in a U.S. District Court in Texas against Microsoft Corporation for patent infringement related to Microsoft's .Net framework, used for building Windows-based software. Vertical alleges that Microsoft has infringed on its Patent #6,826,744, for a "system and method for generating web sites in an arbitrary object framework." The patent is for Vertical's SiteFlash technology, which utilizes XML (Extensible Markup Language) to create a component-based structure to build and efficiently operate Web sites, according to the company's Web site. The complaint says Microsoft is still wilfully infringing on the patent despite Vertical having put Microsoft on notice about it on February 7. Vertical is asking for a jury trial. Vertical, based in Fort Worth, Texas, describes itself as a global Web services provider. It went public in 2000 but is not listed on a major stock exchange.

ComputerWorld