Haptic technology maker Immersion has settled its long running legal dispute with Microsoft over the use of mouse and joystick patents.

Immersion sued Sony and Microsoft in 2002 for patent infringement, settling on both suits. Microsoft and Sony paid out huge wads of cash to sort the matter out. But in 2007 Microsoft sued Immersion, asking the court to enforce a portion of a licensing agreement. The company counter-sued and claimed that Microsoft had breached a confidentiality agreement.

It looks like Microsoft won this round. Immersion has agreed to pay Microsoft $20.75 million. The only thing they seem to have gotten out of it is admission to Microsoft's Certified Partner Program.

It is odd, really, the two companies have been chums in the past.  Immersion worked with Microsoft to integrate their Immersion TouchSense technology into Microsoft's DirectInput API for DirectX 5.0 and DirectX 6 and 7, and signed an agreement in 1999 to share each other's "feel simulation" technology.