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With costly intellectual property lawsuits clogging up court systems and draining corporate litigation accounts around the globe, Microsoft issued an announcement Feb. 9 intended to soothe any legal worries of its embedded software partners and bolster its intellectual property protections for them.
The company said it will increase IP protection for the more than 4,000 OEMs and distributors of its Windows Embedded and Windows Mobile software, who now will receive comparable IP protection to that already offered for other Microsoft flagship products.
The additional IP protection comprises the following, according to Microsoft:
- The defense of OEMs and distributors against IP claims in every country in which Microsoft distributes or markets its Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded products; previously, this protection was for U.S. and selected countries only
- Protection of all patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret claims based on Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded software; previously, not all trade secret claims were covered
- Removal of the monetary cap related to litigatory defense costs
“This new protection pretty much covers everything Microsoft and its partners want covered when it comes to IP protection,” Windows Embedded marketing manager Jason Stolarzcyk told WindowsForDevices.com.
“This is like a jump on a trampoline—were reaching another level of service for our partners and distributors.”