小米向微軟購買1500項專利
Xiaomi has sealed a deal to buy some 1,500 patents from Microsoft, a move that will help the Chinese smartphone maker expand exports and earn the US technology giant some badly needed goodwill in Beijing.
小米(Xiaomi)與微軟(Microsoft)達成一項協議，將向微軟購買約1500項專利，此舉將幫助這家中國智能手機制造商擴大出口，併爲這家美國科技巨頭在中國獲得一些亟需的商譽。
The transaction addresses a key weakness facing Xiaomi, which is seeking to sell its devices in countries outside its home market but has been hindered by its relative lack of intellectual property to fend off lawsuits.
這筆交易化解了小米麪臨的一項主要弱勢，該公司希望在本土市場以外的國家銷售其產品，但由於相對缺乏知識產權來抵禦訴訟，這方面的努力受阻。
“In terms of patents we are a young company,” Xiaomi said yesterday, adding that the Microsoft deal was “a big milestone for us. It will help us with operations in new markets.”
“從專利的角度來看，我們是一家年輕公司，”小米昨日表示，該公司補充稱，與微軟的協議“是我們的一項重要里程碑。它將有利於我們在新市場的業務。”
The agreement comes on the eve of a visit to Beijing by Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella. The US company is still the subject of an antitrust investigation in China over the bundling of software, and its offices were raided by Chinese authorities in July 2014.
該協議是在微軟首席執行官薩蒂亞•納德拉(Satya Nadella)訪華前夕簽訂的。微軟仍因軟件捆綁問題在中國面臨反壟斷調查，2014年7月，中國當局曾突擊搜查該公司駐華辦事處。
The patents deal includes Xiaomi installing Microsoft’s Office and Skype software on its phones. Financial terms were not made public.
這項專利協議包括小米將在其手機上安裝微軟的Office和Skype軟件。交易金額沒有公開。
Xiang Wang, senior vice-president, said Xiaomi was “excited” to be working with Microsoft and the deal demonstrated the Chinese company was “looking to build sustainable, long-term partnerships with global technology leaders”.
小米高級副總裁王翔表示，小米對於與微軟合作感到“激動”，該協議證明，小米“希望與全球科技領軍企業建立可持續的長期合作”。
Other US tech groups facing setbacks in China have looked to do deals with local champions, partly as a way to win favour with Beijing. Last month Apple invested $1bn in Didi Chuxing, China’s version of Uber, which some analysts said they believed was at least partly motivated by government relations.
其他在中國受挫的美國科技集團也已尋求與中國冠軍企業做生意，在一定程度上是爲了贏得中國政府的青睞。上月，蘋果(Apple)向中國版優步(Uber)滴滴出行(Didi Chuxing)投資10億美元，一些分析人士表示，他們認爲，此舉至少在一定程度上受到政府關係的驅使。
Xiaomi said it had applied for 5,700 patents over the past two years but declined to give any detail on the number it has been awarded and where. The deal was a drop in the bucket for Microsoft, with its 60,000 patents.
小米表示，過去兩年該公司已申請5700項專利，但拒絕透露有關獲得批准的專利數量以及在何處獲批的詳細數據。對於擁有6萬項專利的微軟而言，該協議只是很小的一部分。
A lean patent portfolio has hindered Xiaomi’s efforts to ramp up exports. In the smartphone industry, patent litigation is a serious challenge and access to a large number of patents allows companies to reduce their vulnerability to lawsuits by cross-licensing and trading patents.
專利組合薄弱迄今阻礙着小米擴大出口的努力。在智能手機領域，專利訴訟是一項嚴峻挑戰，獲得大量專利將讓公司通過交叉許可和專利交易減少訴訟帶來的影響。
In India, its largest prospective foreign market, Xiaomi last year faced a patent lawsuit in a Delhi High Court by Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson.
在印度，瑞典電信設備製造商愛立信(Ericsson)去年在德里高院(Delhi High Court)起訴小米專利侵權。印度是小米最具潛力的海外市場。
The case continues, though Xiaomi won a reprieve in a subsequent ruling barring it only from importing and selling phones containing components linked to the Ericsson dispute.
該案仍在審理中，儘管小米在隨後的裁決中贏得喘息空間，僅被禁止進口和銷售含有與愛立信糾紛相關的部件的手機。
Xiaomi currently exports to seven countries outside of China and Hong Kong, including Malaysia, India and Brazil.
除了中國內地和香港以外，小米目前還向7個國家銷售產品，包括馬來西亞、印度和巴西。
Expanding exports is part of a strategy to bolster sales, which are sagging in China. Xiaomi was the best-selling smartphone brand in China in 2014 and part of 2015 but has been eclipsed by Shenzhen-based rival Huawei.
擴大出口是提升銷售的戰略的一部分，如今小米在中國銷售疲弱。在2014年全年和2015年部分時期，小米曾是中國最暢銷的智能手機品牌，但現在已被總部位於深圳的競爭對手華爲(Huawei)超越。
Xiaomi sold more than 70m phones in 2015, up from 61m the year before but missing both its original target of 100m and a revised goal of 80m.
小米在2015年銷售了逾7000萬部手機，超過了2014年的6100萬部，但沒有實現最初制定的銷售1億部（後來調整爲8000萬部）的目標。
Microsoft itself has had little success in trying to crack the global smartphone market. It acquired Nokia’s hardware business in 2013 for $7.2bn but the deal has been disastrous. Microsoft said last month it would take an additional $950m writedown, having already written down $7.6bn from its mobile phone operations and laid off 7,800 staff.
微軟自己在進軍全球智能手機市場方面乏善可陳。它在2013年斥資72億美元收購了諾基亞(Nokia)的硬件業務，但該交易是災難性的。微軟上月表示，將再次減記9.5億美元，它之前已經對其手機業務減記了76億美元，並裁掉了7800名員工。
Bryan Ma at IT consultancy IDC in Singapore said of the deal: “It’s a win-win, with one side building up its patent collection and the other building up its ecosystem. But this deal alone won’t change either of their fortunes overnight.”
新加坡IT諮詢公司IDC的馬伯遠(Bryan Ma)談到該交易時表示：“這是一筆雙贏交易，讓一方積累專利數量，另一方打造其生態系統。但單憑該協議不會在一夜之間改變它們的命運。”
