Barnes & Noble wants the International Trade Commission to investigate whether Microsoft is using its Android patent effort to secure a monopoly on the mobile phone market, according to a report from Bloomberg.
In an Oct. 17 letter to the Justice Department, Barnes & Noble reportedly accused Microsoft of "embarking on a campaign of asserting trivial and outmoded patents against manufacturers of Android devices." The effort, the retailer said, will "raise its rivals' costs in order to drive out competition and to deter innovation in mobile devices," Bloomberg said.
Microsoft sued Barnes & Noble in March for patent infringement regarding the retailer's Android-based Nook e-readers. Microsoft holds patents relating to navigation and how Web sites display content; technology used on the Android platform, the software giant said. Microsoft said it tried to come to a licensing agreement with Barnes & Noble regarding its Nook and Nook Color e-readers, but to no avail. The suit also targeted Foxconn and Inventec.
Microsoft filed its case with the ITC and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Documents from the ITC proceeding were made public yesterday.
"All modern operating systems include many patented technologies," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement. "Microsoft has taken licenses to patents for Windows and we make our patents available on reasonable terms for other operating systems, like Android. We would be pleased to extend a license to Barnes & Noble."
Barnes & Noble reportedly cited Microsoft and Apple's joint purchase of patents from Novell, along with Oracle and EMC, a move that has also drawn fire from Google. The purchase was one of a "series of tactics designed by Microsoft to raise its rivals' costs and prevent Android-based devices from taking away sales of Microsoft's Windows operating system," Barnes & Noble lawyers wrote.
Barnes & Noble did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier this week, the company unveiled its Nook Tablet, which will hit stores on Nov. 17. For more, see PCMag's hands on and the slideshow below.