Continuing in the long line of software patent lawsuits, the Internet software company Vertical Computing has sued Microsoft over an alleged violation of US patent #6,826,744, which was filed in 1999. The lawsuit, filed in—you guessed it—the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleges that Microsoft's .NET software violates this patent.

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Vertical Computing describes itself as a company that "provides administrative software, Internet core technologies, and derivative software application products through its distribution network." Essentially it is a web services company. Its primary product, SiteFlash, is a commercial content management system that uses XML to publish and maintain web sites. On the SiteFlash information page, Vertical Computing takes special care to mention that it is covered under US patent #6,826,744.

The patent itself, like many software patents, uses vague language to describe "a system and method for generating computer applications in an arbitrary object framework." The patent involves creating "objects" in a web-based application. These objects are managed throughout their life cycle in an object library and put together to create complex, interactive web applications. The whole mechanism separates design, function, and content so that each can be developed separately.

To anyone who has some knowledge of web-based software development, it sounds a lot like what Sun's Java or Apple's WebObjects were doing before .NET was even released. In fact, the patent even admits as such: "Prior art solutions have succeeded in partially separating some of these functions. Notably, content management databases and digital repositories provide a means of separating content from form and function." It then defends the need for this separate patent with the incredibly vague assertion that "content management tools typically fail to address form/function issues."

I've used a few content management tools in my time, and none of them have failed to separate content from function—that's basically the entire point of content management systems. The patent goes on to claim that "changes in design or content do not require the intervention of a programmer." Again, it's difficult to see how this is different from any other existing solutions, many of which predate Vertical Computing's efforts.

Even if the patent did describe functionality that was unique to products like SiteFlash, it will be difficult to argue that Microsoft's .NET frameworks are infringing on these ideas.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Ars Technica that the company "has not yet been served with a copy of the lawsuit and that it would be premature for us to comment."