Microsoft makes good on promise, publishes list of 41K patents Calls on other companies to get with a patent transparency program

Microsoft
today launched a searchable
list of its complete patent
portfolio as part of its
defense of the patent system,
particularly software patents.
The list is currently composed
of nearly 41,000 U.S. and
international patents
assigned to Microsoft or one
of its subsidiaries.
"Transparency around patent
ownership will help prevent
gamesmanship by companies
that seek to lie in wait and
'hold up' companies rather
than enable a well-
functioning secondary
market," said Brad Smith,
Microsoft's general counsel,
on a blog announcing the
searchable list . "[And]
transparency is a prerequisite
to enforceability of patent
licensing pledges. Quite
simply, without transparency
it is impossible to determine
if a company is in fact
abiding by those
commitments."
Users can filter Microsoft's
list by country, or search by
patent number, the title of the
patent, or the assignee.
However, the list does not
include the patent application
date or when a patent was
awarded.
More information about each
patent must be retrieved from
the granting agency's
website, such as the one
maintained by the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO).
A 4.3MB file in .csv (comma-
separated values) format is
also available for download
from the website; the file can
be imported into, say, a
spreadsheet for additional
analysis.
Microsoft has been pushing
patent transparency since
February, when Smith argued
that governments need to fix
what's broken, but leave
what's working untouched.
Among the reforms he urged
was more openness on who
owned what, a stance
contrary to of many major
companies, which instead file
patents through difficult-to-
track subsidiaries.
After appearing before
congressional staffers during
a Washington, D.C., briefing
Feb. 21, Smith promised that
Microsoft would publish a list
of its patents by April 1.
Today, Smith called on others
to follow Microsoft's lead.
"We urge other companies to
join us in making available
information about which
patents they own," he said.
Although Smith did not name
names, Google had to be on
his mind: The two firms have
been locked in legal battles
over patents, including those
now owned by Google after
its acquisition of Motorola.