Microsoft is due to save a huge amount through a deal with Amazon, after it spent $9 billion on research and development this fiscal year, says platform strategy manager at Microsoft SA Paulo Ferreira.
“Now we can take the new inventions [from Amazon] and implement it into our software,” says Ferreira.
The agreement allows the companies to share technology, including Amazon's Kindle and Amazon's use of Linux-based servers.
Amazon's benefit is that it “gets the opportunity to license Microsoft property and come up to market quicker and faster than its competitors, while respecting [Microsoft's] intellectual property at the same time”, adds Ferreira.
He explains that this is a cross-patent licensing agreement between the companies, and the key focus is on respect for each other's intellectual property (IP).
Amazon will also pay Microsoft a specific sum as part of the deal, but Microsoft says the amount is still confidential.
Benefit for all
South African consumers and consumers in general are affected in that they don't have to concern themselves in any way with IP, something that they shouldn't have to worry about in the first place, according to Ferreira.
“Consumers don't usually concern themselves with this in any way, but they should be aware of this [IP]. They don't want to purchase something, like the Kindle, and then weeks or months down the line they have to worry about IP having been violated by the company they bought it from,” he adds.
Ferreira also believes that deals of this nature benefit the industry as a whole, because there is a chance to use information without having to worry about IP.
“This specific deal is about patenting and respecting each other's IP and so enterprise vendors and consumers can benefit,” he concludes.
Share
