Patents Licensing Policy

To promote broader availability and use of Microsoft Corporation’s technologies, Microsoft Technology Licensing (MTL) may periodically publish new licensing programs. MTL currently maintains licensing for hundreds of communication protocols and other technologies.

MTL will continue Microsoft Corporation’s long history of licensing out patents under fair and reasonable terms to companies that respect intellectual property rights. For examples of our licensing programs, visit Microsoft Technology Licensing. In general, MTL considers all requests for licenses but reserves the right not to license certain technologies and/or patents. Where MTL determines to license patents, we generally do so non-exclusively and on terms similar to how others in the technology industry license their own patents, typically referred to as "commercially reasonable" terms.

• Application to academics
  For bona fide academic institutions, Microsoft makes available appropriate royalty-free covenants under its patents. These royalty-free covenants are intended to encourage non-commercial research and educational activities.
  

Microsoft Corporation will continue to do the following:

• Application to software developer kits (SDKs)
  For more information, please visit our Intellectual Property – Licensing Policy.
• Application to existing standards commitments
  For more information, please visit our Intellectual Property – Licensing Policy.

This policy statement highlights current Microsoft Corporation and MTL licensing practices and is subject to change at any time. This policy statement is also subject to variation to conform to applicable laws and regulations.