Microsoft filed legal actions on Monday in both the U.S. International Trade Commission and the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington against Barnes & Noble, as well as Foxconn and Inventec, two manufacturers of Barnes & Noble’s devices. According to Microsoft, the actions focus on the patent infringement by Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-reader and tablet, both of which run Google’s Android operating system. The patents at issue cover a range of functionality embodied in Android devices that are essential to the user experience, including natural ways of interacting with devices by tabbing through various screens to find the information they need, surfing the Web more quickly and interacting with documents and e-books, Microsoft said in a press release.
Microsoft has established a licensing program to address Android’s ongoing infringement, and leading Android smartphone manufacturer HTC has taken a license under this program. Amazon.com also signed a patent license with Microsoft last year covering its Kindle e-reader.