Barnes &
Noble just gained a big ally in its patent-infringement battle with
Microsoft.An attorney in the U.S. agency where the fight is being waged said he thinks the bookseller is in the right.Jeff Hsu, a staff attorney at the U.S. International Trade Commission, said that he is recommending that
ITC Judge Theodore Essex find there was no violation by Barnes & Noble of three Microsoft patents, reports Reuters. Microsoft has been persuading Android and Linux device makers to pay royalties. By some reports Microsoft is making more money on these royalties than it is earning in license fees for its own mobile platform, Windows Phone. When Barnes & Noble was creating the Nook, Microsoft approached the bookseller looking for royalties. The two couldn't agree and Microsoft sued Barnes & Noble and its offshore manufacturers, Foxconn and Inventec in March 2011. Microsoft claimed the Nook infringed on a handful of Microsoft’s patents.The ITC has been investigating. Should the ITC find Barnes & Noble in the wrong, it could stop the Nook from being imported into the U.S. The recommendation from Hsu came in a trial beginning today in Washington. The judge is scheduled to release his findings on April 27, Reuters says.Please follow SAI: Enterprise on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »See Also:The Chief Architect Of WebOS Is Out At HPMoxie Challenges Jive, Promises Profits This YearMark Hurd Legal Scandal Won't Screw HP Customers After All

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