Microsoft Sued over Network Speed Optimization

Microsoft Sued over Network Speed Optimization

Microsoft Corporation has been dragged to court by Panther Innovations LLC in Texas' western district for infringing patents-in-suit vide its operating systems that use network speed optimization.

Both patents-in-suit i.e. US patent numbers 8,069,231 (the '231 patent) and 7,840,652 (the '652 patent) are connected with network- and internet data transfer speed-optimization. According to the petitioner, "The Asserted Patents describe certain TCP/IP settings that can be adjusted to optimize the network connection, including, for example, Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU), Maximum Segment Size (MSS), Receive Window (RWIN), Time to Live (TTL), Black Hole Detection, and MTU Auto Discovery."

According to Panther, Microsoft infringed the patents in-suit "by making, using, offering to sell, and selling within the United States…certain products (and services) that have various user-selectable network configuration settings including Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 operating systems." At least claims 1 and 29 of the '652 patent, especially claim 1, had been infringed by Microsoft, Panther said. Claim 1 of the '652 patent described how the said Microsoft products provided a plurality of groups of network configuration settings i.e. TCP auto-tune, congestion provider, and Scaling Heuristics functionality, for use by the user's client machine.

These Windows products had user-selectable TCP Auto-tuning functionality, user-selectable Congestion Provider functionality and user-selectable Scaling Heuristics functionality, Panther claimed. The company is seeking awards for costs and fees and damages, judgment in its favor and pre- and post-judgment interest among other relief.