NEC Corp. has licensed its US digital microwave radio (DMR) patents and counterpart patents, covering fundamental telecommunication techniques such as quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), to Microwave Networks Inc (MNI).

The companies also made a cross-agreement not to assert their DMR patents in the future.

The company has previously licensed its DMR patents to a telecommunications manufacturer in North America and is in the process of negotiating similar patent licenses with other telecommunications manufacturers around the world, recognizing its intellectual property as an extremely important and highly valued company asset.

Its aim is to bind patent licensing agreements with telecommunications manufacturers worldwide toward increased market innovation and growth.

"Our research and development innovation over the past 30 years has empowered NEC with an unsurpassable digital microwave radio patent portfolio worldwide," said Hideyuki Ogata, vice president at NEC's Intellectual Asset Management Unit.

"NEC seeks to actively pursue patent licensing agreements with global telecommunications manufacturers that recognize the value of its intellectual property.

We have always embraced new and collaborative ways of driving innovation and will actively work toward the increased development of the global telecommunications market."

On behalf of MNI, the company’s president, James R Gordon, commented, "This is the first licensing agreement that MNI has entered into with another digital transmission manufacturing organization and MNI hopes this agreement is a precursor to enhanced worldwide cooperation between digital radio companies."