Microsoft inks fresh patent deals with Fuji Xerox, Melco Holdings

Microsoft announced today that it has signed new patent cross-licensing agreements with Fuji Xerox and Melco Holdings, the parent company of Buffalo, Inc. In a blog post announcing the deals, Microsoft said that the deals will expand the patent coverage offered to both companies, which had already signed earlier deals with the Redmond-based company.

The partnerships, which began in 2007 for Xerox and 2009 for Melco, are focused on joint innovation and collaboration on new technologies. Microsoft highlighted its patent licensing strategy, saying that by offering licenses to other companies, it has helped them innovate and push their technologies forward. Microsoft has signed more than 1,100 patent licensing agreements over the past 10 years.

Fuji Xerox and Microsoft will share patents under the deal that cover areas such as “digital imaging, document management and mobile consumer products.” The deal with Melco is a fairly common one for Microsoft – the patents shared by the Redmond-based company will cover the Melco’s Linux and Android devices.

Of course, Microsoft isn’t doing all of this out of the goodness of its own heart. While the terms of its current cross-licensing deals aren’t clear, the company makes billions of dollars licensing its patents to makers of Android devices.

 

Source: geekwire.com