Thursday, February 19, 2009

Microsoft Inks IP Licensing Deal with German Firm

Computing powerhouse Microsoft Corp. revealed this morning that it has signed a patent licensing agreement with a German-based digital mapping firm. According to Microsoft, access to its intellectual property will allow 123map GmbH & Co. to overlay "place of interest" data on its existing map images. The financial impact of the deal was not disclosed. Microsoft said 123map specializes in vector-based maps, which use x-y coordinates and are smaller, scalable and do not lose quality when enlarged like traditional raster-based map images. 123map is based in Hanover.