Symantec sues Microsoft over storage tech

The suit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, seeks unspecified damages and an injunction barring Microsoft from using the Symantec technology, which would include a halt on Windows Vista and the Longhorn server, according to a copy of the filing.

“We are accusing them of misusing certain intellectual property that they had access to…and (saying) that they misused our intellectual property in operating system products,” Michael Schallop, the director of legal affairs at the security company, said in an interview. It is the first time Microsoft and Symantec have been pitted against each other in court, he said.

I know the blogosphere hates software, and most people dont remember the days of QEMM and Dr. Dos. But this was pretty much unthinkable just 10 - 15 years ago. From valley rumours from that era, Symantec basically had an agreement with Microsoft to “protect its flank” . . . MSFT shared product roadmap to Symantec who made sofwares that MSFT didnt want/or bother to make (mostly utilities). In return, Symantec made sure to protect MSFT from disintermediation and encroachment from common enemies (why didnt symantec build a browser was a question I always wondered). Furthermore, Symantex tacitly allowed Microsoft to “extend and embrase” itself toward Symantec’s product lines while seeking higher grounds / smaller niches for new application opportunities that MSFT didnt have an immediate roadmap.

How times have changed . . . former bed buddies now enemies. . . speaks to 1) how much Symantec has grown 2) how little opportunities are left for Symantec w/o taking on MSFT frontal 3) How the MSFT flank is so wide open Symantec can no longer play its role effectively 4) How Veritas is changing Symantec culture 5) how much less scary MSFT now seems (can you imaging ANYONE suing BillG in the mid 90’s?) 6) and how diverse the software industry has become. . .