Broadband Tech > Security > Security > Patent Troll Claims Invention Of Windows 8 & Phone 'Tiles'

A company with a few patents but no products to its name—meeting the common definition of a "non-practicing entity" or "patent troll"—has sued Microsoft, claiming to have invented the tile-based interface used in Windows Phone and Windows 8.

Known as SurfCast and based in Portland, Maine, the company's website shows that it has only one thing on its mind—patent litigation. The home page describes its "Operating System technology" without referencing any actual products, while the site's "News" section contains only one item—the lawsuit (PDF) filed yesterday against Microsoft in US District Court in Maine.

"We developed the concept of Tiles in the 1990s, which was ahead of its time. Microsoft’s Live Tiles are the centerpiece of Microsoft’s new Operating Systems and are covered by our patent," SurfCast CEO Ovid Santoro says in a quote posted on the site.

SurfCast is asking the court for an order declaring that Microsoft directly infringed its patent and induced others to do so. SurfCast did not ask for an injunction preventing the sale of any Microsoft products. Instead, it wants "Microsoft to account for and pay to SurfCast all damages caused to SurfCast by reason of Microsoft’s patent infringement."

Microsoft responded to us with a short statement reading “We are confident we will prove to the court that these claims are without merit and that Microsoft has created a unique user experience.”

I knew, that the new Windows 8 design looks like an old one from 90s...

I thought Microsoft copied all its Windows features from Apple....

Can we just blow the patent office up ...

Uh oh! Now you've done it. Bob's on the line to CSIS...

... and how to resent the cache if it's needed.

There's always someone out there wanting to ride the free gravy train.