Patent Licensing Agreements ‘Enable Collaboration and Innovation,’ Microsoft Says

Microsoft signed a broad patent cross-licensing agreement with Fuji Xerox, a provider of document managing systems, wrote Microsoft Executive Director-Technology Licensing Nick Psyhogeos in a blog post Thursday. The agreement “builds on our 2007 cross-licensing agreement, and offers expanded patent coverage to both companies,” Psyhogeos said. Microsoft announced a similar agreement with Melco Holdings Monday. “While patents, by definition, involve a right to exclude, Microsoft thinks about it differently,” Psyhogeos said. Microsoft’s licensing program has a goal of inclusion, he said, saying the company has signed more than 1,000 licensing agreements in the past 10 years. “Licensing of technologies contributes to the discovery and development of new synergies between innovative companies,” Psyhogeos said.