Microsoft gets its 10,000th U.S. patent
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
Microsoft is marking on Tuesday the recent awarding of its 10,000 US patent, granted for its surface computing technology.
U.S. Patent No. 7,479,950 outlines how users can place objects, ranging from cell phones to fingers, on the surface computer's table-like display and the computer will identify the objects and track their position, orientation, and motion, Microsoft said. This allows objects to be associated with data or media, such as a collection of music or photos.
Microsoft was granted 2,000 patents in 2008, ranking it fourth among companies receiving US patents, Microsoft said. The company spends about $8 billion a year on research and development.