Google enter a 'Sync' pact with Microsoft

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Google Sync, the new service from search giant Google, that lets users automatically update calendar and contact information on mobile devices, has a bit of rival Microsoft in it.

The new service launched on Monday, which Google says is “a particularly handy improvement for people who regularly use Google tools”, uses Microsoft's ActiveSync technology.

Google Sync works with a range of phones including Windows Mobile phones, Apple's iPhone, RIM's BlackBerry, and phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson.

Although Google and Microsoft have cooperated in some areas in the past, the deal on Monday is the first announced example of one of those companies licensing the other's intellectual property, Microsoft said in a statement.

According to Microsoft's vice president of intellectual property and licensing, Horacio Gutierrez, the Google license is “a great example of Microsoft's openness to generally license our patents under fair and reasonable terms so long as licensees respect Microsoft intellectual property.”

He said Microsoft has made more than 500 licensing agreements for its intellectual property in the last five years.

Though the new deal demonstrates Microsoft's growing ability to capitalize on its patent portfolio, it also highlights pressures on the company to further open up to other tech-industry players, following a series of setbacks at the hands of antitrust regulators, according to analysts.