Andre Yoskowitz
23 Apr 2012 18:59
Microsoft and Facebook have announced today a deal in which Facebook can purchase some of the patents the software giant recently acquired from AOL.
Facebook can purchase the portion of patents for $550 million. Microsoft just acquired the whole portfolio for $1 billion.
Earlier in the month, Microsoft secured the rights to own or assign 925 patents and patent applications while licensing another 300. After today's agreement, Facebook will own 650 of the patents and applications plus licenses on the other patents purchased by Microsoft.
Says the Redmond giant: "Today's agreement with Facebook enables us to recoup over half of our costs while achieving our goals from the AOL auction. As we said earlier this month, we had submitted the winning AOL bid in order to obtain a durable license to the full AOL portfolio and ownership of certain patents that complement our existing portfolio."
The transaction is expected to close soon.