Google, Microsoft, Apple sued over preview icons

A Michigan-based networking company on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Google, Microsoft, and Apple alleging that all three tech giants violated a patent it owns on the use of document-preview icons--or thumbnails--in operating systems.
patents

In the suit (PDF), Cygnus Systems targets Google's Chrome, Microsoft's Vista and Internet Explorer 8, and Apple's iPhone, Safari, and Mac OS X as patent infringers. Apple uses the patent-protected technology in its Finder and Cover Flow Mac OS X features, the lawsuit claims.

[Cajun Chicken]

I don't see that going very far.

[gaffyh]

Yeh if this case is successful, every software company in the world could be sued.

[ThanatosDMC]

How the patents work is really so screwed up sometimes.

[TrevorPhillips]

ouch!

[mrdxpr2]

these days companys love to sue big companys like sony,ms,apple,google etc

[drdistracto707]

too bad the smaller company always loses, then again, they deserve to lose if they even attempted to go at all 3

[lsujester]

I wouldn't say that. Often the smaller company just gets paid off to shut the eff up. That's a win in my book. LOL

[Sarick]

The XMB has the video and image thumbnails inside it.

[TheColbertinator]

Good luck to the people suing the big three.They wont last a second against the 600,000 high priced lawyers of Google,Apple and MS

[TrevorPhillips]

thats there christmas presents getting sued lol

[Jager]

Damn jesus... thats fing crazy

[moja]

These are sickening by now. I see this as an innovation that should be shared amongst feature sets within software. Linux has been using this for years, as has Unix. I know the economy's gone down, but come on. I wonder who has the patent for displaying electronic images on a screen - guess we'll be using braille displays after that lawsuit.

[Sarick]

If these companies can prove someone used the idea before 2001 this patent is void right?

[TIKUP]

okey this is pathetic! :)

[Gambit07]

You need some balls to go up against all if them.