14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft applauded the growing list of collaborators associated with its IP licensing program, naming companies such as Motorola, Nokia, Novell and even the Cupertino-based Apple. Owning one of the most consistent intellectual property dowries worldwide, Microsoft started licensing items from its patent portfolio back in 2003. Five years later, the Redmond giant has passed the 500 signed agreements milestone, and according to Horacio Gutierrez, deputy general counsel and vice president of intellectual property and licensing at Microsoft, it will continue with the program.
"Microsoft’s decision to declare that it was 'open for business' on the IP licensing front was also an official recognition on our part of a number of emerging trends, primarily the fact that the pace of innovation was — and still is — accelerating," Gutierrez stated. "At Microsoft we invest more than $7 billion a year on our research and development (R&D), and as a result have a patent portfolio that is recognized by outside indexes, and the industry, as arguably the strongest — and highest-quality — software patent portfolio."
Gutierrez added that the 500 agreements already inked by Microsoft with members of various industries and markets around the world is a clear illustration of the success of the company's IP licensing program. When it comes down to the most significant deal made by the Redmond giant, Gutierrez pointed to the Novell agreement signed at the end of 2006, emphasizing that until that point the marriage between Microsoft and an open source company was viewed as impossible.
"I see the IP licensing space as a dynamic market and I expect it to grow even further in the future. We’re working with businesses on every continent in all sorts of industries. There’s a depth of engagements we’ve brought to fruition, from software to digital photography to car navigation and other consumer electronics. We have a number of agreements in the U.S. but also several in Europe, Japan and, recently, in China," Gutierrez added.