Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday it will open its portfolio of patented technology for use by academic researchers and make it easier for companies – including competitors – to license its intellectual property. The company said the changes are designed to respond to other technology companies that have asked Microsoft to license its patented technology. Other companies, including IBM, have long made their intellectual property available. “A number of other industry leaders have done this for a number of years and in some cases decades,” general counsel Brad Smith said. “We’re joining their ranks today.”
President Bush signed a bill Wednesday to invest $3.7 billion for work in nanotechnology, the science of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules. The bill puts into law programs for research and development aimed at finding ways that nanotechnology can detect and treat disease, monitor the environment, and produce and store energy. The legislation, which authorizes the money over four years, is designed to help develop breakthroughs in nanotechnology. Nanotechnology works at scales that are about 1/100,000th the diameter of a human hair.
The recording industry has filed 41 more lawsuits against computer users in at least 11 states it said were caught illegally distributing songs over the Internet, continuing its aggressive campaign against online music piracy. The latest copyright suits this week make 382 filed since the Washington-based Recording Industry Association of America announced its legal campaign nearly six months ago.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will stop accepting signature debit cards issued by MasterCard starting in February, the first major retailer to take such action since a lawsuit settlement freed merchants to pick which credit and debit card services they use. Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, said Wednesday that MasterCard’s fees for the signature debit cards are too high. It will continue to accept Visa’s signature debit cards. A MasterCard spokesman didn’t return a call for comment Wednesday morning. The company released a statement to The Wall Street Journal in which MasterCard accused Wal-Mart of telling customers how they can pay. “It is surprising in today’s environment for any merchant to make a conscious decision that will result in dissatisfied customers and lost sales,” MasterCard said.
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