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Microsoft, Belkin Settle U2 Patent Dispute

By BetaNews Staff, BetaNews

December 1, 2006, 4:46 PM

Microsoft said Friday that it had settled a patent infringement suit with peripherals maker Belkin. The Redmond company sued Belkin in August, saying it infringed on patents surrounding U2 technology, which allows peripherals to automatically determine if they need a USB or PS/2 connection. At the time, Microsoft complained to the International Trade Commission that Belkin was refusing to enter into licensing talks.

As part of the arrangement, Belkin would license the U2 patents in exchange for settling any litigation. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed, although the complaint asked for no financial damages. U2 has already been licensed to other manufacturers, such as Targus and Fellowes.

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By Ryokurin

posted Dec 3, 2006 - 3:36 PM

It was a hardware patent. They also didn't ask for damages, just for it to be licensed properly.

Score: 0

By 4421

posted Dec 2, 2006 - 10:19 PM

Suing companies over software patents is bad style.

Score: 0

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