Microsoft expands Azure IP Advantage with new IP benefits for Azure IoT innovators and startups

Today, we are pleased to announce the expansion of the Microsoft Azure IP Advantage program, which includes new benefits for Azure IoT innovators and startups . We first announced Azure IP Advantage in February 2017. It is designed to provide comprehensive protection against intellectual property (IP) risks for our cloud clients. The trend that we have seen at that time, and we see it now, is the growing risks of cloud innovation due to patent lawsuits. Last year, we joined the Open Invention Network (OIN) and the License on Transfer (LOT) Network to help eliminate the risk of patent theft from our customers and partners.

Thanks for the transfer to our MSP, Lev Bulanov

But we believe we can do more. The number of IoT patents in the United States increased by more than 400 percent between 2013 and 2018. Therefore, after talking with customers and thinking about how we can further enhance the value of the Azure IP Advantage program, we decided to expand the program with new benefits focused on the Azure-based IoT ecosystem and startups to help Azure customers avoid legal costs . New features announced today include:

• Unlimited compensation coverage for Microsoft Azure Sphere and Windows IoT. Compensation helps protect the client from claims of intellectual property rights infringement to the client for using the product or service. Today’s expansion provides unlimited compensation for Azure Sphere and Windows IoT, including open source software included by Microsoft in these products.
• Access to 10,000 patents for customers using Azure for IoT devices to protect themselves from IP lawsuits. This advantage can help prevent patent lawsuits against Azure customers for their workloads and applications running on Azure or their IoT devices, as qualified customers can choose a patent to use in defense of a lawsuit.
• The opportunity for Azure startups to acquire Microsoft patents to help grow their businesses. Qualified startups who also join the LOT Network can acquire Microsoft patents through LOT in technical areas, including AI, multimedia and security. Patents can play an important role for startups as they grow, find ways to protect their innovations and attract critical capital support.

Many startups tell us about the particular vulnerabilities they face in small companies and the importance they attach to building up their own IP portfolio in the early stages when they are seeking to raise capital and build a future. Our partners at LOT Network have developed a program that meets these needs. Microsoft is pleased to donate 500 patents to the LOT Network, which LOT will now grant to qualified start-ups as part of free membership.

Considering everything together, we believe that Microsoft offers the most complete and comprehensive environment for eliminating the risks of IP in the cloud.

Initial customer reviews were positive:

“For an international engineering company such as thyssenkrupp, Microsoft Azure IP Advantage is an excellent tool for reducing IP risks when switching to Industry 4.0,” said Dr. Stephan Wolke, Head of Intellectual Property (IP). and services thyssenkrupp GmbH.

“Applied Brain Research creates brain-inspired AI systems,” said Peter Suma, chairman and co-CEO of a startup in a growing market for neuromorphic computing. “Azure IP Advantage helps us focus on our next innovations and spend less time worrying about IP risks.”

Our goal is to create a community that can focus on innovation, and not worry about protecting our innovations. We hope that this step in extending the Azure IP Advantage program will be useful in this regard.