Salesforce.com responded to Microsoft’s patent-infringement complaint with a filing of its own, declaring Microsoft products, including .NET and SharePoint collaboration software, violate Salesforce.com’s patents.
Microsoft filed a complaint last month with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, against Salesforce.com for infringement of nine Microsoft patents by their CRM product.
David Boies, who prosecuted pervious complaints against Microsoft, is on the legal team for Saleforce.com.
Microsoft is reviewing Salesforce.com's filing and will continue pursuing its own complaint, which it had threatened for a while before filing against one of its major competitors in the customer relationship management space.
Salesforce.com grew first quarter revenues by 24 percent to $376.8 million compared to the same quarter last year and gave upbeat guidance through 2011. However, Zacks Equity Research said that despite Salesforce.com’s strong cash position with approximately $1 billion, any adverse outcome will likely impact earnings going forward. The firm also is concerned that if found guilty in a court of law, the demand for Salesforce.com's Web-based software programs could be challenged.
