Microsoft unveils new policy on intellectual property access

IDG News Service - Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new technology licensing policy today that the company said signals its commitment to working with other vendors in the industry on intellectual property swaps intended to drive interoperability and innovation.
Microsoft will create licensing programs to offer access to a broad range of its intellectual property, including copyrights, trademarks, file formats and schema, software technology, and Microsoft-developed standards specifications. Microsoft today also introduced programs offering technology and patent licenses for two of its creations, its ClearType technology for improving the readability of text on LCDs and its FAT (File Allocation Table) file system storage format.
Some of Microsoft's licensing programs will be royalty-free, like the Office XML schemas it began offering developers last month, executives said during a conference call. Others, like its ClearType and FAT programs, will carry fees. Details of the various programs are listed on a new Microsoft intellectual property Web site.
Licensing Microsoft's FAT technology will cost vendors 25 cents per unit incorporating the system, such as memory cards and digital cameras. Fees are capped at $250,000 per manufacturer. The ClearType program will let vendors use the technology in devices such as handheld computers and mobile phones, with fees generally in the range of $1 to $3 per device.
Microsoft's new licensing approach is unrelated to its antitrust settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and its ongoing skirmish over the same issue with the European Commission, according to Brad Smith, the company's general counsel and a senior vice president. "We felt it was important to take this step, based on our strong dialogues with a number of other companies in our industry," Smith said.
Analyst Joe Wilcox at Jupiter Research called the new licensing policy an "important first step" for Microsoft, as the industry's most notorious proponent of proprietary technology edges toward a more open approach to product development.
"Traditionally, Microsoft has been very guarded about its [intellectual property]. Its approach has been to try to differentiate itself from others with its [intellectual property]," he said. "I think what you're really seeing here as much as anything is evidence of the changes going on within Microsoft."
Anything in Microsoft's portfolio is potentially available for licensing, Smith said. "Access to and exchange of intellectual property is really essential to the continued growth and development of the broader IT industry," he said during the conference call. "Microsoft is committed to licensing its intellectual property on clear, commercially reasonable terms based on industry norms."
Although Microsoft, which spends more than $4 billion annually