News
Company Says .NET Violates Its Patent
Fort Worth, Texas-based application system developer Vertical Computer Systems
Inc. announced Friday that last week it filed a patent infringement lawsuit
against Microsoft.
The company alleges that Redmond violated one of its patents, 6,826,744,
in developing Microsoft .NET Systems.
According to the U.S. Patent Office Web site, the patent under contention covers
"a system and method for generating computer applications in an arbitrary
object framework," so that "each may be accessed or modified separately."
It was first filed in 1999 in Austin, Texas.
Vertical Computer Systems' ultimate goal may be to obtain licensing payments
from Microsoft: In 2006, the company issued a press release stating that it
had hired a law firm to pursue licensing of the patent from various companies.
The suit was filed Wednesday in the United States District Court, Eastern District
of Texas. According to several news reports, the filing came after Vertical
Computer Systems contacted Microsoft about the usage in February.
When asked for a comment, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "Microsoft has
not yet been served, so it would be premature for us to comment at this time."
Vertical Computer Systems offers a number of software packages for Web services,
including its "Flash" line of products -- SiteFlash, ResponseFlash,
NewsFlash -- and the Emily XML Scripting Language. It also offers emPath through
its subsidiary, NOW Solutions Inc.
About the Author
Becky Nagel is the former editorial director and director of Web for 1105 Media's Converge 360 group, and she now serves as vice president of AI for company, specializing in developing media, events and training for companies around AI and generative AI technology. She's the author of "ChatGPT Prompt 101 Guide for Business Users" and other popular AI resources with a real-world business perspective. She regularly speaks, writes and develops content around AI, generative AI and other business tech. Find her on X/Twitter @beckynagel.