Sun Sues Microsoft Over Java

By DAVID JOACHIM

Sun Microsystems has filed suit against Microsoft to prevent the software giant from using Java technology in its products.

The suit, which Sun said it filed in U.S. District Court, charges Microsoft with trademark infringement and breach of contract, among other charges. Sun is seeking an injunction to stop Microsoft from shipping what Sun claims are incompatible implementations of Sun's Java programming language.

Specifically, Sun said its compatibility tests show that the Java implementations in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 browser and Software Development Kit for Java don't conform to the Java specification and APIs. Such compatibility is required in Sun's licensing agreement, the company said.

In a statement, Alan Baratz, president of Sun's JavaSoft unit, said, "Sun's first responsibility as stewards of the Java technology is to preserve the significant investments that Sun and hundreds of companies have made. We are required to take this action on behalf of our licensees, the Java industry and Sun's shareholders."

Sun has scheduled a teleconference for 10:30 a.m. Pacific time to provide details about the compatibility tests and the lawsuit. Microsoft officials could not immediately be reached for comment.