Windows 8, which was launched only a few days ago, is already facing its first lawsuit. An operating system technology designer by the name of SurfCast is suing Microsoft for ripping off the “tiles” feature, which Microsoft uses in Windows 8 as well as its Windows Phone platform.
According to SurfCast, Live Tiles are, “Tiles can be thought of as dynamically updating icons. A Tile is different from an icon because it can be both selectable and live — containing refreshed content that provides a real-time or near-real-time view of the underlying information.” In the lawsuit, SurfCast claims Microsoft infringes on its tile patent by “making, using, selling, and offering to sell devices and software products.” According to SurfCast, Microsoft knew the Live Tile technology existed when they filed for their own patent. Microsoft, on the other hand, disagrees. Microsoft is “confident we will prove to the court that these claims are without merit and that Microsoft has created a unique user experience,” a spokesperson stated. This is going to be interesting. You can check out the entire complaint here.
