Microsoft's Intellectual Property Licensing Program Boosts Customer Choice

This white paper explains the benefits of protocol licensing for independent hardware vendors (IHVs), independent software vendors (ISVs), original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and customers; describes the various protocols available for licensing; and highlights scenarios in which the use of these protocols can speed the development of interoperable products.

Microsoft® Corporation has launched an aggressive program of protocol licensing, accompanied by technical and marketing support, to help hardware and software vendors bring interoperable products to market more quickly and to increase customer choice. By licensing portions of its source code and other intellectual property as a series of protocols (the language in which applications, software platforms, or hardware devices communicate), Microsoft greatly eases the development burden for both partners and competitors. With access to licensed protocols, vendors can solve interoperability problems more quickly and at lower cost than through reverse engineering. When customers are assured of interoperability through the licensing of protocols, they are more likely to buy new solutions more quickly, are more easily able to share information both within and outside of the organization, and are better able to quickly respond to changing business conditions.

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