Japan Asks Microsoft to Drop Contract Clause
From Associated Press
Japan’s anti-monopoly agency demanded that Microsoft Corp. drop a clause from contracts with Japanese electronics makers that it suspects allows the U.S. software giant to unlawfully appropriate patented technology.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft said it would contest the order, which came five months after Fair Trade Commission investigators raided its offices in response to complaints by electronics companies.
The disputed contract clause, called the “non-assertion of patents provision,” says companies that sign Windows licensing agreements will forgo the right to sue over suspected patent infringements linked to the licensing.
