Microsoft is paying Sun Microsystems $1.95 billion as part of a deal signed last week--but Sun could gain as much as $450 million more over the next 10 years through a patent provision in the agreement. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun disclosed the 10-year schedule in a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that detailed the Sun-Microsoft pact, an alliance between bitter enemies that surprised the technology world. A patent provision in the agreement creates the potential for Sun to benefit from further Microsoft cash or from access to the software colossus' patent portfolio.
The 10-year payment schedule is part of a covenant the two companies signed that permits them to sue each other for patent infringement but discourages this by prohibiting the collection of financial damages from such a suit, said Lee Patch, Sun's vice president of legal affairs. Microsoft agreed to pay Sun $900 million for the covenant governing patents up to the date of last week's agreement, Patch said. According to the filing, Microsoft has the option to extend the covenant each year afterward for a further payment. If Microsoft extends the covenant for all 10 years, the payments total $450 million, Patch said.
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News source: news.com
The 10-year payment schedule is part of a covenant the two companies signed that permits them to sue each other for patent infringement but discourages this by prohibiting the collection of financial damages from such a suit, said Lee Patch, Sun's vice president of legal affairs. Microsoft agreed to pay Sun $900 million for the covenant governing patents up to the date of last week's agreement, Patch said. According to the filing, Microsoft has the option to extend the covenant each year afterward for a further payment. If Microsoft extends the covenant for all 10 years, the payments total $450 million, Patch said.
View: The full story News source: news.com
Resolved Game Issues (ATI Catalyst 4.4 cont)
This section provides information on game issues that have been resolved in the latest release of CATALYST™. These include the following:
- Worms 3D no longer fails to properly play. Launching in game movies no longer results in only the sound being heard with the display being corrupted or black
- Intermittent texture corruption and flashing is no longer seen when playing the game Battlefield 1942
- The shadow of the characters in the game Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow are now being displayed properly
- Display corruption is no longer noticed when switching between 2D and 3D modes in the game Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004
- The performance of the game Tomb Raider AOD is no longer compromised when running the game at the display resolution of 1600x1200
- The brightness option found in certain games is now working properly when extended desktop is enabled and both monitors are set to 1280x1024 32bpp
- Configuring the game RACER version 0.50 to run at full screen, 1600x1200 32bpp, no longer results in the game failing to respond
- Setting the display resolution to 1600x1200 and running the game Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy no longer results in display corruption being noticed at a specific point in the game
- Display corruption is no longer seen when playing the demo version of the game Far Cry
It's not the corporations, it's the lawyers!
US gives money to countries with sick economy.
MS gives money to companies with sick bottomline.
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