Microsoft Broadens Patent Protection for Cloud Customers

#Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday broadened the patent-lawsuit protection it offers its cloud-computing customers, aiming to keep intellectual-property litigation from curtailing the adoption of its #Azure service. The program, called Microsoft Azure IP Advantage, provides uncapped indemnification coverage—payment for legal costs—to customers using open-source technology incorporated into Azure services, such as #Hadoop, a tool used to analyze large amounts of data. Microsoft already provides such a service for Azure customers developing apps using Microsoft technology. In its most-recent quarter, revenue for Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes Azure, rose 8% to $6.9 billion, about 28% of the company’s overall sales. The program, called Microsoft Azure IP Advantage, provides uncapped indemnification coverage—payment for legal costs—to customers that develop cloud applications using open-source technologies such as Hadoop, a tool used to analyze large amounts of data. The offering is the first of its kind, according to Forrester Research Inc. analyst Jeffrey Hammond. While intellectual-property suits targeting open-source tech use in the cloud aren’t common, the service could still lure customers, particularly those averse to risk, he said. “If you’re one of those 25 to 30 companies that it’s happened to, it really matters to you,” Mr. Hammond said.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-broadens-patent-protection-for-cloud-customers-1486562400