Symantec legal action could stall Windows Vista

Security and antivirus firm Symantec yesterday filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, accusing the Redmond giant of patent infringement.

The legal action was made via Symantec's wholly owned Veritas subsidiary in Seattle in the Western District of Washington, and pertains to patents.

While a detailed breakdown of the nature of the suit has not yet been released by the court, it is understood that Microsoft is accused of using Veritas' proprietary technology to develop its own features in Windows, including the forthcoming Vista.

The filing alleges misappropriation of intellectual property and breach of contract. Symatec is known to be seeking an injunction blocking further development as well as the sale of Vista.

Some reports suggest that the technology at the heart of the dispute is Symantec's Volume Manager product, which allows operating systems to store and manipulate large amounts of data.

Veritas became part of the Symantec group last year.