In February, Microsoft had filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against GPS technology provider TomTom - accusing it of infringing on eight patents, including some that describe technology found in TomTom's version of the Linux OS.

And on March 16, TomTom hit back at Microsoft! The Amsterdam, Netherlands-based company has filed a countersuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging willful infringement on the part of Microsoft, and seeking triple damages saying it had already warned Microsoft about the breach.

TomTom has accused Microsoft of infringing on four of its patents, including use of its navigation technology in Microsoft's Streets and Trips application.

Though Microsoft had earlier expressed its willingness to "quickly resolve" its situation with TomTom through "a licensing agreement," the company was tight-lipped on making any public comments about the recent countersuit filed by TomTom.

In a statement, Horacio Gutierrez - Microsoft's corporate VP and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing - said: "We are reviewing TomTom's filing, which we have just received. As has been the case for more than a year, we remain committed to a licensing solution, although we will continue to press ahead with the complaints we initiated in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington and the International Trade Commission."