TomTom and Microsoft declare patent war ceasefire

Microsoft and satnav maker TomTom have settled the patent infringement cases the two companies had brought against each other.

The cases have been settled under a patent agreement where TomTom will pay Microsoft for coverage under the eight car navigation and file management systems in the first patent case.

Microsoft said it will also receive coverage under the four patents included in the TomTom countersuit. The agreement lasts for five years.

The agreement will include patent coverage for Microsoft's three file management systems patents compliant with TomTom's obligations under the General Licence Version 2 (GPLv2).

TomTom will remove from its products the functionality related to two file management systems, which enables efficient naming, organising, storing and accessing of file data.

TomTom will remove the functionality within two years, and the agreement will provide for coverage directly to TomTom's customers under these patents during that time.

Microsoft said it was pleased to that it had reached an amicable agreement, while TomTom said that the agreement reaffirmed its commitment to the open source community.