It may seem like the equivalent of granting Microsoft Corp a paid-up license to the core technology of Windows for $8m back in about 1987, but Spyglass Inc needs the cash and had drawn up its business plan on the basis that Mosaic royalties from Microsoft would dwindle away, and so Spyglass has granted Microsoft a paid- up license to Mosaic, which is the core technology underlying the Internet Explorer browser. The Naperville, Illinois company has allowed Microsoft to buy out all current and future royalties owed to Spyglass for continuing use of its Internet technology in Explorer for what looks very much like small change – $8m, made up of $7.5m in cash and $500,000 in software and maintenance. Spyglass will recognize the payment in its second fiscal quarter ending March 31. As a sop, Microsoft has offered to bring Spyglass in on the development new technologies. The two will also expand distribution of their technologies and work together on open standards in the embedded systems markets. Spyglass also said its entire line of Infrastructure Server products will be offered to run under Windows NT, and its Spyglass MicroServer will run under Windows CE, the Microsoft entry for the handheld market.
