Sun Partner Cries Foul in Patent Spat

by Ed Oswald

Mountain View, Calif.-based Java hardware company Azul filed for declaratory relief in order to "protect the interests of the company" from Sun Microsystems, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Azul says Sun is attempting to force the company into paying an "exorbitant" sum of money to settle patent infringement allegations, as well as demanding part ownership of Azul and high up-front fees and royalties on the hardware the company sells.

If Azul does not comply, Sun has threatened with legal action, according to the allegations.

"Attempts to reach an agreement failed when Sun gave Azul an ultimatum: accept its final proposal or face litigation," Azul said in a statement. The company says the issues surround claims that it has misappropriated trade secrets and infringed on Sun's patents.

Azul said it has been a long-standing supporter and advocate of Sun's Java technologies, and legal action was taken only as a last resort. The company also claims that it has on numerous occasions offered Sun the opportunity to investigate the claims by looking through confidential information. However, Sun has repeatedly declined.

"The unfortunate irony here is that Sun, a company with deep roots in research and development that actively markets sharing and expanding the technology landscape, has seen fit to adopt an anti-competitive strategy that stifles key innovation around the Java platform simply because they didn't invent it," said Azul's presdent and CEO Stephen DeWitt.

Sun has declined to comment, saying it had not yet seen or reviewed the lawsuit.

The two companies have close ties. DeWitt founded Cobalt Networks, which Sun acquired in 2000. Azul's chief marketing officer is Shahin Khan, who formerly was an executive with Sun. The two sides offer competing applications that act as a central repository to run Java applications.

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