Epson and Microsoft announced a cross-licensing agreement that allows increased access to each company's respective patent portfolios. The agreement will enable each company to broaden its product offerings and deliver more comprehensive, cost-effective solutions. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The expansion of the long-standing partnership between Epson and Microsoft will promote the exchange and implementation of patented technologies in many consumer and business electronics product areas.

"With this agreement we can share technologies that each company has invested in and bring the resulting success to the marketplace," said Masataka Kamiyanagi, Executive Officer of Epson's Intellectual Property Division. "We expect to expand our mutual relations in order to protect our intellectual properties on a global level, especially against counterfeit problems."

"Epson is an important industry ally for us and by sharing our intellectual property we can extend the reach of our respective innovations to our customers," explained Marshall Phelps, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Microsoft. "Intellectual property licensing is a cornerstone of today's software industry and essential for the development of comprehensive technology solutions."

Epson is very active in filing and securing patents, and has maintained an outstanding position in the global patent rankings, particularly in Japan where it was ranked third in published patents in 2005.

Microsoft has established a solid record of collaborating with other technology innovators and has entered into cross-licensing agreements with several leading technology companies, including Toshiba, NEC, Nortel, Cisco Systems Inc., Siemens AG and SAP AG.