NEW YORK —Faltering Internet icon AOL was able to squeeze out more than $1 billion from Microsoft for a trove of about 800 patents in an auction, the latest sign of just how valuable such portfolios can be for the world’s biggest technology companies.
“There is a fight for market share occurring on multiple fronts — technology, patents, advertising,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Financial who covers Microsoft. “Microsoft, more so than others out there, has been (using) its patent portfolio as a way to generate license fees. This should strengthen that.”
Microsoft refused to say what the patents cover. Software patents can have broad applications, and thousands of patents can apply to a complicated product such as a cellphone. Google is buying phonemaker Motorola for $12.5 billion, in large part, to get hold of its patents. The Associated Press
