Microsoft
And Amazon Ink Patent Cross-Licensing Deal
Microsoft and Amazon.com have signed a
patent cross-licensing agreement that gives each company access to the other's
patent portfolio.
The
deal covers a broad range of products and technology, according to a Microsoft statement, including Amazon's Kindle e-reading device that uses a combination
of proprietary and open source software.
The
agreement also covers Amazon's use of Linux-based servers. Microsoft has signed
a number of similar agreements with companies that sell Linux-based software or
build Linux into their hardware products. In the past, Microsoft executives
have maintained that components of Linux may violate Microsoft patents.
Microsoft
said Amazon would pay Microsoft an undisclosed amount of money under the
agreement. But specific terms of the deal were confidential.
"Microsoft's
patent portfolio is the largest and strongest in the software industry, and
this agreement demonstrates our mutual respect for intellectual property as
well as our ability to reach pragmatic solutions to IP issues regardless of
whether proprietary or open source software is involved," Horacio
Gutierrez, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Intellectual
Property and Licensing, Microsoft, said in a statement.
Microsoft
said it has entered into more than 600 patent licensing agreements since it
launched its IP licensing program in December 2003, including deals with Apple,
Novell, Hewlett-Packard and Samsung.
By Rick Whiting,
ChannelWeb, February 24, 2010
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