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A Belmont software company has filed suit today in U.S. District Court in Boston against Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), claiming the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant infringed its patent on a business method for extracting data from spreadsheets.
Founded in 2000 by Robert Handsaker and Gregory Rasin, NetView Technologies Inc. is a business process management (BPM) software maker whose flagship product is an application designed to manage employee incentives by tracking sales, sales quotas and compensation. The company’s software uses Microsoft’s Excel spreadsheet application — widely used to track quotas and incentives — as its user interface.
NetView’s lawsuit alleges Microsoft infringed a 2007 patent with Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server (MOSS) 2007 — specifically the Sharepoint Server’s Excel Services technology. According to the complaint filed today, the patent, titled “System and Method for Efficiently and Flexibly Utilizing Spreadsheeet Information,” was originally applied for in 2003.
NetView is seeking a temporary injunction, preventing Microsoft from making or selling its Excel Services product, and asks for treble damages, alleging that the software giant has had knowledge of its infringement since August, 2007.
Sharepoint Server offers a data portal for businesses that use Microsoft Office software, including an application platform and developer tools. The company is close to releasing a new version of the product, with Sharepoint Server 2010 now available in beta.
Excel Services Architecture provides a way for companies to develop applications using data stored in SharePoint content databases and gain access to those applications via the Web.
Microsoft and NetView officials did not return messages seeking comment.
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