Microsoft patent program grabs Amdocs mobile billing

This week Microsoft has made an agreement with yet another group in their IP Collaboration system in which rather than getting sued by the giant, groups agree to pay a fee for utilizing technology Microsoft has patented. The Amdocs group is the business working with Microsoft today, they being best known for their software and services for billion and customer support for telecommunications groups such as T-Mobile, Comcast, Vodafone, DirecTV, and more. This agreement covers Amdocs' use of Linux-based servers in its data centers.

This agreement is part of a IP licensing program Microsoft has had in play since December 2003, with many signings taking place over the past year. This program gained quite a bit of attention over the past year due to the many groups which had to sign with Microsoft in a way that made it so the Windows-toting company made more cash from Android-based devices than they did with their own Windows Phone project. Of course that's all inconsequential when it comes down to this particular agreement – but Android is, of course, Linux-based, and the devices Amdocs ends up serving in the end do often end up being Android as well.

Take that with a grain of salt and for a moment, all you patent-hating lovers out there, have a listen to what Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, Intellectual Property Group at Microsoft, has to say.

"This agreement with Amdocs adds to the more than 1,100 patent license agreements Microsoft has entered into over the last decade. Microsoft's licensing program ensures respect for its world-class intellectual property portfolio while at the same time making available to others the result of its multi-billion dollar annual investment in research and development." – Gutierrez

Sound alright to you? Have a peek at some other recent cases Microsoft has had on its side over the past few months in our timeline below.

[via Microsoft]