Twitter acquires over 900 IBM patents

Twitter acquired over 900 patents from IBM last month, the companies said Friday.

In addition to the patent acquisitions, the companies also entered into a cross-licensing deal, they said in a statement. The financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Twitter Legal Director Ben Lee said the acquisitions and licensing agreement will provide the company “with greater intellectual property protection and gives us freedom of action to innovate on behalf of all those who use our service.”

General Manager of Intellectual Property at IBM Ken King said the deal “illustrates the value of patented IBM inventions and demonstrates our commitment to licensing access to our broad patent portfolio.”

IBM received nearly 7,000 patents last year and has been a leading voice in the patent reform debate on the Hill, supporting changes to limit abuses in the patent litigation system but opposing provisions it thinks could weaken software patents.