Microsoft in Patent Deal With Amazon

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) said it reached a patent licensing agreement with Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) that gives the online retailer rights to use open-source software in its Kindle electronic book reader and servers based on the Linux operating system.

Under their agreement, Microsoft said Seattle-based Amazon will pay it an undisclosed sum. Microsoft, Redmond, Wash., said in a statement that the deal was a patent cross-license agreement under which it will also gain rights to Amazon patents that it didn’t identify.

The statement from Microsoft said Kindle uses both open-source and proprietary software components made by Amazon.

Open-source programs allow users to view and modify their “source code,” or underlying instructions. Linux and other programs that are created with the technique have been among the most effective competitors against Microsoft products.

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