Microsoft filed suit before the U.S. District Court in Washington and the International Trade Commission against Dutch GPS navigation company TomTom for infringement of eight patents, three of which involve Linux. This caused widespread fears that Microsoft may start a “witch hunt” against the overall Linux community.

Although several industry experts said this could be the first step in a Microsoft campaign to support its claim that Linux violates numerous of its patents, Microsoft dismissed this version and said it only has a bone to pick with TomTom due to tits implementation of the Linux kernel.

According to Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of intellectual property and licensing at Microsoft, the TomTom case does not extend to a wider Linux patent argument. Mr. Gutierez added that Microsoft filed suit against the Dutch GPS maker only after negotiations with TomTom’s management on licensing failed. TomTom’s products use a mix of proprietary and open-source code that violates Microsoft’s patents, said Mr. Gutierez.

"I think there shouldn't be any ambiguity on our expectations as a company. We recognize that open-source software will continue to be a part of the industry," said Mr. Gutierez.

Many market watchers are said they believe through this move, Microsoft prepares for a battle against Linux, but some figures in the open-source community aren’t exactly convinced. Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, wrote in a blog post advising against a rush to judgment. He added that this is just a “private dispute” between Microsoft and TomTom.