Microsoft Corp. lobbed the latest volley in the Java wars today, counter-suing Sun Microsystems, Inc. over their Java licensing agreement.
Three weeks after Sun sued Microsoft for allegedly violating that agreement, Microsoft responded with its own legal action alleging breach of contract.
"Sun has apparently decided that it no longer likes the deal it made more than a year and a half ago," said Tom Burt, associate general counsel for Microsoft, in a prepared statement. "Sun's suit may make for good PR, but its claims are not grounded in fact or in law. We are disappointed that it has come to this, but we have upheld our end of the bargain. Sun has not."
Sun filed a lawsuit in a San Jose, Calif. court on Oct. 7, claiming that Microsoft's release of Internet Explorer 4.0 violated the Java licensing agreement that requires products using the Java logo to pass Sun compatibility tests. Sun said the browser, released Sept. 30, failed those tests.
Microsoft claimed in its filing made in the same U.S. District Court that Sun failed to deliver technology that passes Sun's own Java testing.Other allegations in Microsoft's countersuit accuse Sun of breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair competition.
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