Microsoft licenses video patents

Microsoft said Wednesday that it has licensed several interactive video patents from Austin, Texas-based Monkeymedia. The software maker said the "Seamless Expansion" family of patents covers means for artistically putting advertising or other additional content into Internet Protocol video streams.

"Licensing technology is an essential part of maintaining a healthy cycle of innovation in the IT industry and is a practice employed by most all high-tech companies. Microsoft respects intellectual property rights, and by so doing, is able to stand behind its products and customers," Microsoft managing director Ken Lustig said in a statement. Monkeymedia was launched in 1994 by Janna Buckmaster Bear and Eric Gould Bear, who used to work at Microsoft.