Microsoft and Alacritech have settled a dispute over networking technology the software giant plans to use in future versions of Windows.
Alacritech, which sued Microsoft for patent infringement last year, announced the settlement Wednesday. The dispute centered around Microsoft"s "Chimney" technology, which the software giant said it developed independently, but which Alacritech said was based on its own intellectual property.
The start-up, based in San Jose, Calif., won a preliminary injunction in April that temporarily blocked Microsoft from incorporating Alacritech"s patented networking interface into new versions of Windows Server 2003 and Longhorn, the next version of Windows. "Today"s announcement ensures that Microsoft customers and partners will be able to realize improved application, server, and network performance with Windows Server 2003," Microsoft said in a statement. "As part of this agreement, we have resolved all outstanding litigation with Alacritech."