Barnes and Noble tosses gloves aside, speaks its mind on Microsoft's Android licensing initiative

It looks like Barnes & Noble is mad as hell and just isn't gonna take it anymore. In a strongly worded letter to the Department of Justice, it's called Microsoft out as a "Patent Troll" and "Bully." When Redmond rolled up with its usual ultimatum: license our Android patents or we'll sue you, B&N demanded to know which patents the Nook was meant to infringe -- many of them trivial. The software giant demanded that as well as licensing fees, it would have veto power on design features and hardware requirements for future devices, which prompted the bookseller to contact the DoJ. Whilst you should take everything with a pinch of salt (and realize that both companies could be rattling the sabers), it's worth remembering that companies won't start calling in government agencies until no other viable options exist, which means this saga could be running for months, if not centuries. Head on down to our source link for all the gory details, replete with copies of the filings made.