Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Quest Software Trades Patent Lawsuits

Aliso Viejo-based Quest Software has sued competitors Centrify Corp. and Likewise Software, Inc., the firm said late Friday, claiming that the two firms infringe on one of its patents, U.S. Patent No. 7,617,501. According to Quest, the patent covers the extension of Windows Group Policy into Unix, Linux, Mac, and other non-Windows computer systems. Quest said it is seeking damages and injunctive relief from Centrify and Likewise. In a retaliatory lawsuit, this morning, Centrify said it has filed its own, patent infringement suit against Quest, alleging that Quest's Authentication Services infringe on its U.S. Patent No. 7,591,005. Centrify said its patent covers the capablity of UNIX and Linux service accounts and root accounts to be authenticated with a centralized directory.