The company claims that Microsoft had prior knowledge of the patent and yet tried to ignore it.
Technology giant Microsoft has been sued by a little-known company called HoloTouch for patent infringement. The lawsuit comes in relation to the HoloLens handset by Microsoft.
According to the lawsuit filed by the Connecticut based HoloTouch, the Microsoft device is an infringement of two of its patents. As per the report in Engadget, the patents by HoloTouch are over a decade old and are related to the holographic imaging technology.
The company claims that Microsoft had prior knowledge of the patent and yet tried to ignore it. In its complaint, the company has claimed that even though it had approached Microsoft with the offer of a partnership way back in 2006, it received no response.
Instead, the complaint states that the technology giant filed its own patent in 2013 and termed the patents by HoloTouch as prior art. Even then HoloTouch tried to make an agreement with Microsoft, but its attempts that were made in 2015 and 2016 also received no response. The company is now seeking a jury trial and claiming triple damages for an unspecified amount from Microsoft.
But some reports about the claim points fingers towards a possible patent trolling. A report in Techspot stated that HoloTouch has no known products or working prototypes under its belt. On the other hand, the company which claims to be an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for Augmented Reality holds patents across the globe including the UK, Japan and Canada.
While the authenticity of HoloTouch’s claim may be debatable, there are several instances where patent holders have created big troubles for major firms. The example of VirnetX, where Apple was ordered to pay close to Rs 3000 crore after winning a patent dispute is the best example for this.
