Just two days after Creative filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple for alleged violation of the "Zen patent," Apple has hit Creative with a surprise countersuit. Apple says Creative's portable music players infringe on no fewer than four of its patents, although it's unclear specifically what the patents are

In other news, Symantec has sued Microsoft for violation of intellectual property laws in its upcoming Windows Vista operating system. Symantec is angry and alleges that Microsoft improperly used Symantec's data storage techniques in its own software. Symantec wants compensation, saying the alleged infringement amounts to misappropriation of its trade secrets. Microsoft describes the accusation as unfounded and says it has tried unsuccessfully to resolve the issue.