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The following content is from an older version of this website, and may not display correctly. Microsoft Corp. and Salesforce.com have reached a settlement agreement in two mutual patent-infringement lawsuits against each other.
As a result, both companies will have coverage under each other’s patent portfolios for their products and services for a specified term. Details of the agreement were not disclosed.
"We are pleased to reach this agreement with Salesforce.com to put an end to the litigation between our two companies," Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing Horacio Gutierrez said in a statement. "Today’s agreement is an example of how companies can compete vigorously in the marketplace while respecting each other’s intellectual property rights."
Microsoft filed its complaint against Salesforce.com in May, accusing the provider of software-as-a-service solutions and a cloud-based development platform of infringing nine Microsoft patents by its customer-relations-management product, Salesforce.com’s core offering.
Salesforce.com responded in late June by filing its own patent-infringement complaint against Microsoft, claiming it had violated its patents with its .Net development framework and SharePoint business collaboration platform.
Following the settlement agreement, Salesforce.com gains use of Microsoft’s intellectual property through the software giant’s IP licensing program, launched in 2003. Since its launch, Microsoft has signed more than 600 licensing agreements with companies that include Apple, HP, Amazon, LG Electronics, Nikon Corp. and others.
As a result, both companies will have coverage under each other’s patent portfolios for their products and services for a specified term. Details of the agreement were not disclosed.
"We are pleased to reach this agreement with Salesforce.com to put an end to the litigation between our two companies," Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing Horacio Gutierrez said in a statement. "Today’s agreement is an example of how companies can compete vigorously in the marketplace while respecting each other’s intellectual property rights."
Microsoft filed its complaint against Salesforce.com in May, accusing the provider of software-as-a-service solutions and a cloud-based development platform of infringing nine Microsoft patents by its customer-relations-management product, Salesforce.com’s core offering.
Salesforce.com responded in late June by filing its own patent-infringement complaint against Microsoft, claiming it had violated its patents with its .Net development framework and SharePoint business collaboration platform.
Following the settlement agreement, Salesforce.com gains use of Microsoft’s intellectual property through the software giant’s IP licensing program, launched in 2003. Since its launch, Microsoft has signed more than 600 licensing agreements with companies that include Apple, HP, Amazon, LG Electronics, Nikon Corp. and others.
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