Microsoft launches lawsuits against Barnes & Noble for e-readers

This week Microsoft has filed several lawsuits for patent infringement against bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc over its Nook electronic book reader and other device makers.

Earlier, Microsoft sued Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc over its Android phone handsets. The Redmond company said that Barnes & Noble's e-readers infringe several Microsoft patents with software used to tab between screens, surf the Web and interact with e-books.

The lawsuits were filed in federal court in Seattle and the International Trade Commission. Microsoft claims in its filings that the Nook line of e-readers infringe five Microsoft patents, concerning the way they display retrieved images, show the status of downloaded material on a small screen, edit electronic documents and render annotations.

The lawsuit also charged the makers of the devices, Foxconn International Holdings Ltd and Inventec Corp, with patent infringement.

The case is 2:11-cv-00485 Microsoft Corporation v. Barnes & Noble, Inc. et al, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (Seattle).