Windows 7: MS sues Salesforce.com for alleged patent infringement.

Details are scarce so far, but Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against Salesforce.com for allegedly infringing nine unspecified Microsoft CRM-related patents.

Microsoft posted a statement on its Web site acknowledging it had taken legal action on May 18. Here’s an excerpt from that statement from Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing:

“Microsoft has filed an action today, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, against Salesforce.com for infringement of nine Microsoft patents by their CRM product.”

I’ve asked Microsoft and Salesforce both for additional information. Salesforce officials said they have no comment. Microsoft is not commenting beyond the statement it released on its Web site.

Microsoft and Salesforce are rivals in the cloud-based CRM space. The two also compete in the CRM developer space, with Microsoft pushing its xRM platform as a rival to Salesforce’s Force.com platform.

Earlier this month, Salesforce hired a former Microsoft Vice President, Maria Martinez. At Salesforce, Martinez is Executive Vice President of Customers for Life. At Microsoft, she was Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Services.

Well, Microsoft is known for absurdly intentionally vague patents that often don't stand up in the courts. I'm not saying that is what has happened in this very instance, but it seems hard for me to understand how MS could have patents that would cover CRM's, when their products up to this point haven't covered the CRM space.

Perhaps they have patents but have not used the patented technology in any current products.