Briefs: Microsoft expands licensing to hardware

Microsoft is extending its intellectual-property licensing program that includes licensing for hardware technologies.

By expanding its IP licensing to address increased market demand within the consumer electronics industry, Microsoft is encouraging shared success by opening revenue-generating opportunities for Microsoft partners, the company said.

"Most people think of Microsoft as solely a software company, but we've been a leading hardware innovator and supplier to the desktop peripherals industry for over 20 years," Robbie Bach, president of the entertainment and devices division, said in a news release. "The hardware licensing initiative is a first for Microsoft, and we're excited to make our innovations broadly available to others in the industry through licensing."

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

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