OneTwelve AI

Ownership time machine · real data

Microsoft Corporation

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Multi-Factor Intelligence

United States · group structure from the OneTwelve entity map

Thirty years of Microsoft patent ownership, fully traced.

OneTwelve’s Multi-Factor Intelligence Tools untangle decades of assignments, mergers, spin-offs and renames into one crystal-clear picture — and every step links back to the recorded USPTO document behind it.

62,643
plus 86,678 pending applications
U.S. patents held today by the Microsoft group
5,040
the rest sit with subsidiaries such as Microsoft Technology Licensing and LinkedIn
In Microsoft’s own name
9,467
all recorded assignments
Patents & applications acquired from outside the group
1,991
all recorded assignments
Patents & applications transferred out of the group

Recorded USPTO assignments since 1990. 75,923 inventor-to-employer assignments are counted separately and not shown as moves.

2026ACQUIREDWITHIN GROUPTRANSFERRED1995200020052010201520202025Microsoft TechnologyInternational BusinessAT&T IntellectualZhigu HoldingsMicrosoftRovi TechnologiesSkypeAlianza
AS OF 2026
59
Moves
6,559
In
1,588
Out
54,303
In group

Drag across the chart to zoom into any period · click a move for its recorded evidence · ← → to step through moves

Where the patents went

Band width = patents in the recorded move. Press play to scan through the years. Click a band.

The biggest recorded moves · 14 of 56

ACQUIREDTRANSFERRED OUTWITHIN THE MICROSOFT GROUPNo acquisitions recorded in these yearsNo transfers out in these yearsInternational Business2,183 patents · 2008AT&T Intellectual577 patents · 2012AT&T Intellectual484 patents · 2015Rockstar Bidco275 patents · 2012Skype261 patents · 2020Metaswitch250 patents · 2025Zhigu Holdings561 patents · 2016Rovi Technologies275 patents · 2014Alianza255 patents · 2025Servicenow188 patents · 2018Cerence Operating88 patents · 2020Microsoft Technology49,681 patents · 2014Microsoft Technology1,744 patents · 2023Microsoft Technology1,655 patents · 2017MicrosoftgroupAS OF2026
Within the group

2014-11-11 → 2026-06-11

49,681 patents moved to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

2,803 recorded documents

The path, as recorded

  1. 1Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC49,681 patents · 2014
  2. 2Microsoft CorporationMicrosoft group

Recorded assignments · USPTO reel/frame

  • 34541/12014-12-09
    ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST5,000 patents
  • 34541/4772014-12-09
    ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST5,000 patents
  • 34542/12014-12-09
    ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST5,000 patents

Patents moved per year · click a year to zoom

Bar height on a square-root scale. Exact recorded totals per year, all assignments (not only the moves shown).

Group membership today · entity map

  • LinkedInUltimate owner: Microsoft Corporation
  • GitHubUltimate owner: Microsoft Corporation
  • Activision BlizzardUltimate owner: Microsoft Corporation

Where this comes from

OneTwelve ownership graph, as of 2026-09-28. Recorded USPTO assignments (ownership transfers, mergers and name changes; security interests, releases and inventor assignments excluded). Patent counts sum the properties on the recorded documents. Group membership per the OneTwelve entity map; joined-the-group dates come from corporate registry records and reviewed disclosures. Moves of 40+ patents are shown; inventor-to-employer assignments are excluded. Recorded assignments show where patents moved; on their own they do not prove the business reason for a move. Story captions are generated from the recorded moves.

Microsoft patent ownership history: the recorded moves

Between 2000 and 2025, recorded USPTO assignments show the Microsoft group acquiring 9,467 patents and applications from outside the group and transferring 1,991 out of it. 56 moves of 40 or more patents are traced here, each tied to the recorded document behind it. Today the group holds 62,643 U.S. patents and 86,678 pending applications.

Largest transfers out: Zhigu Holdings Limited (561 patents, 2016); Rovi Technologies Corporation (275 patents, 2014); Alianza, Inc (255 patents, 2025).

Largest acquisitions: International Business Machines Corporation (2,183 patents, 2008); AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P (577 patents, 2012); AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P (484 patents, 2015).

All 59 recorded moves, by year

2025

  • 250 patents acquired from Metaswitch Limited · USPTO reel/frame 71296/1, recorded 2025-05-19
  • 255 patents transferred to Alianza, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 71296/79, recorded 2025-05-19
  • 245 patents moved to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC · USPTO reel/frame 72526/313, recorded 2025-08-27

2023

  • 140 patents acquired from Xandr Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 63264/1, recorded 2023-04-05
  • 140 patents acquired from Fungible, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 64434/430, recorded 2023-07-31
  • 1,744 patents moved to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC · USPTO reel/frame 65533/389, recorded 2023-11-09

2022

  • Nuance Communications, Inc. joined the Microsoft group
  • Metaswitch Networks Ltd. joined the Microsoft group

2021

  • 63 patents acquired from Riskiq, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 57581/13, recorded 2021-09-23

2020

  • 131 patents acquired from Github Software Uk Ltd. · USPTO reel/frame 51710/252, recorded 2020-01-27
  • 88 patents transferred to Cerence Operating Company · USPTO reel/frame 52114/1, recorded 2020-03-05
  • 43 patents transferred to Lot Network Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 51908/224, recorded 2020-02-24
  • 57 patents acquired from Maluuba Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 53116/878, recorded 2020-07-01
  • 47 patents acquired from Semantic Machines, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 53904/601, recorded 2020-09-28
  • 261 patents acquired from Skype · USPTO reel/frame 54559/917, recorded 2020-12-01

2019

  • Github India Private Limited joined the Microsoft group

2018

  • 188 patents transferred to Servicenow, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 47681/916, recorded 2018-11-29

2017

  • 97 patents acquired from Toshiba Corporation · USPTO reel/frame 41333/955, recorded 2017-01-11
  • 69 patents acquired from AT&T Mobility II LLC · USPTO reel/frame 41494/590, recorded 2017-01-26
  • 45 patents acquired from AT&T Alex Holdings, LLC · USPTO reel/frame 41495/903, recorded 2017-01-26
  • 70 patents acquired from Microsoft Mobile Oy · USPTO reel/frame 43950/468, recorded 2017-09-22
  • 1,655 patents moved to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC · USPTO reel/frame 44746/1, recorded 2017-11-01
  • Perceptive Pixel Inc. merged into Microsoft Corporation: 72 patents · USPTO reel/frame 44511/872, recorded 2017-11-27

2016

  • 51 patents acquired from Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation · USPTO reel/frame 38932/365, recorded 2016-06-16
  • 561 patents transferred to Zhigu Holdings Limited · USPTO reel/frame 40354/1, recorded 2016-10-14

2015

  • 484 patents acquired from AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. · USPTO reel/frame 38000/89, recorded 2016-03-16
  • 93 patents acquired from N-Trig Ltd. · USPTO reel/frame 35820/870, recorded 2015-06-04
  • 52 patents acquired from Core Wireless Licensing S.A.R.L · USPTO reel/frame 35871/519, recorded 2015-06-09
  • 117 patents acquired from LG Electronics Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 36042/88, recorded 2015-07-01
  • 166 patents acquired from Concurix Corporation · USPTO reel/frame 36139/69, recorded 2015-07-20
  • 48 patents transferred to Uber Technologies, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 36350/695, recorded 2015-08-18
  • 178 patents moved to Microsoft Corporation · USPTO reel/frame 36930/248, recorded 2015-10-22

2014

  • 40 patents acquired from Color Labs, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 31920/404, recorded 2014-01-08
  • 114 patents acquired from Osterhout Group, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 32087/954, recorded 2014-01-17
  • 73 patents acquired from Tegic Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 32122/269, recorded 2014-01-23
  • 62 patents transferred to Rovi Corporation · USPTO reel/frame 33377/140, recorded 2014-07-23
  • 275 patents transferred to Rovi Technologies Corporation · USPTO reel/frame 34539/676, recorded 2014-12-08
  • 49 patents acquired from Cisco Technology, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 34147/324, recorded 2014-11-11
  • 49,681 patents moved to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC · USPTO reel/frame 34541/1, recorded 2014-12-09

2013

  • 77 patents moved to Nuance Communications, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 29596/836, recorded 2013-01-09
  • 43 patents acquired from Phoenix Solutions, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 30949/249, recorded 2013-08-06

2012

  • 72 patents acquired from Tellme Networks, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 27910/585, recorded 2012-03-22
  • 275 patents acquired from Rockstar Bidco, Lp · USPTO reel/frame 29972/256, recorded 2013-03-12
  • 168 patents acquired from AOL Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 28759/133, recorded 2012-08-09
  • 66 patents acquired from Digg, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 28757/227, recorded 2012-08-09
  • Dictaphone Corporation merged into Nuance Communications, Inc.: 73 patents · USPTO reel/frame 28952/397, recorded 2012-09-13
  • Voice Signal Technologies, Inc. merged into Nuance Communications, Inc.: 42 patents · USPTO reel/frame 28952/277, recorded 2012-09-13
  • 577 patents acquired from AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P. · USPTO reel/frame 35160/466, recorded 2015-03-13

2011

  • 69 patents acquired from Canesta, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 25742/564, recorded 2011-02-03
  • Danger, Inc. merged into Microsoft Corporation: 81 patents · USPTO reel/frame 27039/9, recorded 2011-10-10

2008

  • 2,183 patents acquired from International Business Machines Corporation · USPTO reel/frame 22354/566, recorded 2009-03-06

2007

  • 76 patents acquired from Tangis Corporation · USPTO reel/frame 19265/368, recorded 2007-05-09

2005

  • 177 patents re-recorded as Nuance Communications, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 16851/772, recorded 2005-12-06
  • 68 patents transferred to Nice Systems, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 17097/752, recorded 2005-12-08

2004

  • Webtv Networks, Inc. merged into Microsoft Corporation: 278 patents · USPTO reel/frame 32956/380, recorded 2014-05-23

2003

  • 80 patents acquired from Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. · USPTO reel/frame 13835/252, recorded 2003-03-14

2002

  • 49 patents acquired from L&h Holdings Usa, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 12673/844, recorded 2002-03-13

2001

  • 246 patents acquired from Silicon Graphics, Inc. · USPTO reel/frame 12520/887, recorded 2002-01-24

2000

  • 46 patents acquired from Caere Corporation · USPTO reel/frame 11295/285, recorded 2000-11-20