Security software maker Symantec filed suit Thursday against Microsoft, claiming the software giant infringed its patents and violated a contract between Microsoft and a firm that Symantec now owns.

Microsoft exceeded the limits of an agreement it had to use technology from storage software vendor Veritas by making its own competing software, Symantec said in the suit, which was filed in U.S District Court in Seattle. Symantec bought Veritas last December in a deal worth US$13.5 million at the time.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has worked with Veritas since the mid-1990s and the company said in a statement that it struck a deal with Veritas in 2004 to acquire the "intellectual property rights for all relevant technologies."

The move could further delay the introduction of Windows Vista, which is slated to feature a range of built-in security features. Microsoft recently pushed back the consumer-version release into 2007, a move seen opening the door to Apple computer to boost its sales during the key fourth quarter.

In filing the suit, Symantec may be acting at least in part in self-defense. Earlier this month, research firm Yankee Group said those features could impact some PC security software firms by significantly reducing demand for third party products, including firewalls and anti-spyware tools.....

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