Symantec Sues Microsoft Over Vista

Symantec filed suit against Microsoft on Thursday, accusing the Redmond company of infringing on its patented technology in Windows Vista and Longhorn Server. The suit asks for damages, as well as an injunction that would halt the sale of both operating systems.

The complaint involves technology in Symantec's Volume Manager program, which allows an operating system to store a large amount of data. Microsoft had licensed a basic version of the software from Veritas in 1996, and used it in its Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

Veritas was acquired by Symantec in December 2004. The complaint argues that Microsoft is barred from using the technology within Windows Vista and Longhorn server, and asks the court to stop the company from doing so. Symantec argues that Vista would compete with its products, which is a violation of the original agreement.

Additionally, the company says Microsoft is attempting to patent technologies related to Volume Manager. While the two sides have attempted to settle out of court, they could not come to an agreement. Symantec is confident that it would win any court judgment.

Microsoft disputes Symantec's story, saying the disagreement is unfounded as it results from a narrow reading of the original contract. The company also claims that it licensed the technologies again in 2004, making Symantec's claims baseless.