Licensing policy

Application to existing standards commitments

As a major participant in many industry standards bodies, Microsoft frequently contributes technology and know-how to these organizations. Many of these organizations have well-defined policies that specify how patents and other IP should be licensed in the standard-setting context. Microsoft will continue to comply with all applicable policies when participating in industry standards processes, including the contribution of technology to standards bodies under "reasonable and nondiscriminatory" (RAND) terms, either on a for-fee, or royalty-free basis, as defined by each standards group.

This policy statement highlights current Microsoft licensing practices and is subject to change at any time. This policy statement is also subject to variation to conform to applicable laws and regulations.

Application to academics

For bona fide academic institutions, Microsoft makes available appropriate, royalty-free covenants under its patents. These royalty-free covenants are intended to encourage non-commercial research and educational activities.