Licensing Program Offers Up Microsoft IP

Microsoft has sought to streamline its licensing programs in order to provide the IT industry broader access to its IP portfolio. In addition, Redmond is pledging to maintain royalty-free terms with the academic community - provided there is no commercial use of its software.

Companies licensing the technology will pay what Microsoft deems "fair and reasonable terms" for access to more than 4,000 items of intellectual property.

The program announced this week provides access to copyrights, trademarks, software, schema, and file formats. The latest two technologies to join IP licensing are ClearType and the FAT file system.

Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith explained the reasoning behind the expanded IP access in a statement. "Many in the industry have been asking Microsoft to clarify our licensing policy and to provide broader availability to our IP portfolio," said Smith.

He continued, "The changes we are announcing today will promote greater collaboration across our industry, and we look forward to partnering with a broad range of companies."

According to Microsoft, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel Marshall Phelps bears the responsibility for managing the IP portfolio, and the increasing requests for IP access.

It is currently unknown how many pieces of technology will fall under the scope of Microsoft's patents, especially given the fact that many propagated for free over the course of many years. To many users of Microsoft operating systems made after Windows 98, FAT is a resident of that technology graveyard, consigned to obsolescence.

Not all of the industry is wearing the same rose colored glasses. A day after the announcement, Sun Microsystems issued its perspective on Microsoft's new licensing plans.

A Sun spokesperson told BetaNews, "The bottom line is that an entire ecosystem of technology exists that has been reverse-engineered to Microsoft's products because they have always had closed systems. Thus, many already broadly pervasive technologies are at risk of licensing claims and enforcement abuse by Microsoft. Sun sincerely hopes Microsoft is prudent with their approach to licensing and royalties."

Sun's position centers on the assumption that other companies reverse-engineered technologies such as FAT.

But Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox advised BetaNews that reverse engineering has not been free of tribulation. "Licensing assures true FAT compatibility. For some storage devices or digital cameras that's an issue," said Wilcox.

Lexar Media has already signed on as an early adopter to utilize FAT in its storage solutions.

Now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag, it remains to be seen whether Microsoft's IP program will draw more active participants, or if the skies are simply darkening ahead of another round of industry-wide patent litigation.