Microsoft are being sued over the Tiles that feature as part of the Windows 8 operating system. These ‘Live Tiles' are little animated blocks which have been designed primarily for the tablet audience. These tiles have features in Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Phone 8.

The interface actually goes back to Windows Phone 7 and the company decided that it was a good move to add these tiles into the latest desktop operating system even though a large portion of the enthusiast audience have complained that they don't want them.

SurfCast, an operating system developer are claiming that Microsoft have infringed on their original design. SurfCast have patented the term back in 2004 and described the interface option “It can be thought of as dynamically updating icons. A Tile is different from an icon because it can be both selectable and live — containing refreshed content that provides a real-time or near-real-time view of the underlying information.”

The company are ordering that Microsoft “account and pay to SurfCast all damages caused to SurfCast by reason of Microsoft’s patent infringement.”

Kitguru says: There is a good possibility that Microsoft may settle out of court, however there is no more information as yet.

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