Twitter has acquired over 900 patents from IBM, a move acceptable advised to achieve IBM’s claims that Twitter was anarchic on at atomic three of its patents.
IBM said Friday that Twitter acquired the patents in December, and that the companies had entered into a apparent cross-license acceding accoutrement added technologies that ability be aggregate amid the firms.
The accord will acceptable acquiesce Twitter to abide to accomplish after adverse a absorb contravention clothing from IBM, which is one of the better U.S. apparent holders with an alive portfolio of almost 41,000 patents.
“This accretion of patents from IBM and licensing acceding provides us with greater bookish acreage aegis and gives us abandon of activity to innovate on account of all those who use our service,” said Ben Lee, acknowledged administrator for Twitter, in the announcement.
Financial agreement of the accord were not disclosed.
Just as it was advancing to go public, Twitter appear in November in a authoritative filing that IBM had declared that it was anarchic on at atomic three of its U.S. patents. Although it didn’t book a lawsuit, IBM beatific Twitter a letter agreeable the amusing media aggregation “to accommodate a business resolution of the allegations,” Twitter said at the time.
IBM articular three patents accurately in the letter: for the able retrieval of compatible ability locators, for presenting announcement in an alternate service, and for programmatic analysis of accepted contacts, Twitter said.
It is not bright whether those three patents were included in the 900 that Twitter has back acquired, although they apparently are. The accumulation of the purchased patents acceptable covers any cardinal ofcomputer application technologies and accoutrement Twitter may accept to absorb into its service. Twitter could not be anon accomplished for comment.
Because IBM holds such a ample portfolio of patents, Twitter’s accord with the aggregation is not unique. Facebook, in the lead-up to its IPO, additionally purchased patents from IBM, as has Google.
