Microsoft heads to court with Primax

Microsoft is returning to the courtroom over another patent infringement case.

The company is suing Primax Electronics, a Taiwanese vendor that specializes in peripherals and imaging products.

The suit centers around the use of three patents Microsoft holds on mouse features. The company claims that Primax is using its U2 connection interface as well as the Tiltwheel and Magnifier mouse features.

Microsoft says that it licenses the patents to more than 20 other hardware vendors, but Primax continues to use the features without having a deal in places.

As a result, the company said that it will be filing an infringement complaint with the International Trade Commission in hopes of forcing Primax to take up a licensing agreement.

"Microsoft has an open intellectual property licensing policy, but in situations such as this, in which a reasonable licensing agreement cannot be reached despite our best efforts, we have no choice but to pursue legal action to protect our innovations," said Horacio Guitierrez, Microsoft's vice president and deputy general counsel of IP and licensing.

"Primax’s practice of using our innovations without taking a patent license is unfair to the many companies that have already licensed our technology, so we are taking action to protect both our partners and our innovations."

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