Xiaomi buys patents from Microsoft, agrees to carry software on smartphones

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has agreed to buy 1,500 patents from Microsoft, gaining some helpful intellectual property in return for carrying the US group's Office and Skype software on its devices.

Xiaomi will purchase the patents from Microsoft for an undisclosed sum, Xiaomi’s senior vice president of strategic cooperation Wang Xiang said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

“In terms of patents we are a young company,” Xiaomi said in a statement, adding that the deal with Microsoft was “a big milestone for us. It will help us with operations in new markets”.

Microsoft also announced that from September, Xiaomi's Android devices, including Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi 4s, Redmi Note 3 and Redmi 3, will come pre-installed with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Skype applications.