Microsoft sued Kyocera in U.S. federal court in Seattle in March, seeking damages and an injunction preventing Kyocera from selling some of its Android-powered phones. The Android operating system was built by Google, but Microsoft says it owns the rights to some of its underlying technology.
Microsoft on Thursday announced a patent licensing deal with Kyocera that includes rights for both companies “to use a broader range of each other’s technologies in their respective products through a patent cross license.”
Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corp., headquartered in Hendersonville, N.C., has a Vancouver manufacturing facility at 5713 E. Fourth Plain Blvd. that makes components for such industries as aerospace, paper-making, and semiconductor processing equipment. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyocera International Inc. of San Diego, the North American holding company for Kyocera Corp., based in Japan.