Pact will allow expanded access to the patents of each company DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY – German electronics and engineering company Siemens AG and Microsoft Corp. have agreed to a broad cross-licensing deal allowing expanded access to the patents of each company.The licensing agreement with Siemens is part of Microsoft’s recently announced intellectual property (IP) policy to expand cross-licensing initiatives and enable others to license aspects of its research and development (R&D) efforts.Microsoft, which plans to invest US$6.9 billion in R&D in its present fiscal year, has more than 10,000 issued and pending U.S. patents, it said. Siemens, which spent $6.3 billion on R&D in its last fiscal year, has 45,000 patents worldwide, with another 40,000 patents filed and due to be granted, it said.The U.S. software company and German manufacturer have cooperated closely in the development of the Siemens HiPath OpenScape system, which uses Microsoft Live Communications Server 2003. OpenScape is a real-time communication management system. Software DevelopmentCloud ComputingSaaSTechnology IndustrySmall and Medium Business