The deal between Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Canon Inc. (ADR) (NYSE:CAJ) (TYO:7751) will allow each other the use of the others patent portfolio. Neither company has released the details of the deal but Microsoft has stated that the deal includes quite a few of each others patents for products and services including in the mobile realm and digital imaging.
“This collaborative approach with Canon allows us to deliver inventive technologies that benefit consumers around the world,” Nick Psyhogeos, general manager and associate general counsel of the IP Licensing of the Innovation and Intellectual Property Group at Microsoft, said in a statement. “Microsoft believes cooperative licensing is an effective way to accelerate innovation while reducing patent disputes.”
Microsoft’s earlier agreements
The companies are no strangers to each other. Canon was one of the first companies to sign up for Microsoft’s Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT) technology in 2009.
Microsoft said it has now signed more than 1,100 patent licensing deals since its IP licensing program started in Dec. 2003. Somewhat surprisingly, much of the news about that program are related to Microsoft’s efforts to license its Android patents, yes you read that correctly. As part of its deal with Nokia, Microsoft was forced to share patent information with China. The patent portfolio according to the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM), includes 73 standard essential patents and 172 Android-implemented patents.
New Canon Patent
In other patent news, Canon is working on a new camera to make skin look perfect in each shop according to a patent find by Japanese blog egami. The new technology is meant to capture better skin tones by determining what parts of the image are emitting the highest infrared light levels. That find is either a result of my flawless Japanese while trolling for anime porn or more likely a recent post by Cherylynn Low at TomsGuide.com.
