Microsoft Corp and South Korea's LG Electronics said yesterday they have reached a patent cross-licensing agreement aimed at further developing each other's current and future products.
LG will be able to use Microsoft's patented innovations in its products, including Linux-based embedded devices, the two high-tech giants said in a statement.
Microsoft will in turn have access to LG's patents and will license other patents developed by LG that are now owned by business solutions provider MicroConnect Group.
The companies did not disclose the terms of the agreement but said Microsoft would make a net balancing payment to LG and MicroConnect for patents related to operating and computer systems.
LG would make continuing payments to Microsoft for the value of Microsoft patents relating to Linux-based embedded devices which the it produces.
"This agreement and our good relationship with Microsoft enables LG to provide improved telecommunications solutions to our customers," said Jeong Hwan-lee, executive vice president of LG's intellectual property center.
The deal is "another example of how Microsoft is continuing to build bridges with others in the industry through intellectual property licensing," Horacio Gutierrez, vice president for intellectual property and licensing at Microsoft, was quoted as saying.
In the past year, Microsoft has announced similar agreements with Novell, Samsung, NEC, Fuji-Xerox, Seiko-Epson and Nortel.
"The company has been interested in inter-operability for a long time," Microsoft general manager of inter-operability Tom Robertson said earlier this year.
"We are doing this because our customers demanded it," Robertson said.
"More and more people are deciding they want to be able to pick and choose when it comes to inter-operability," he said.
"They want different parts to work together even though they come from different vendors," he said.
Analyst Matt Rosoff of the group Directions on Microsoft was sceptical about the latest patents deal.
"All companies do cross-licensing. Microsoft has done it for years and only now makes a big deal," said Rosoff, whose group specializes in tracking the software giant.
"I really think it is part of this ongoing, subtle competition against open source [software]," he said.
"I think this is part of a continual low-level whisper campaign to make customers think twice about using technology not backed by Microsoft," he said.
LG Electronics employs more than 82,000 people working in over 110 operations, including 81 subsidiaries around the world.
Its global sales last year totalled 38.5 billion dollars. The firm is the world's largest producer of CDMA handsets, air conditioners, optical storage products and DVD players.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS