Which computer company launched a Patent Tracker in 2013?

Microsoft launched a Patent Tracker in 2013. The online tool was introduced in March 2013 as a searchable way to examine Microsoft’s patent holdings and related ownership information.

The tracker reflected Microsoft’s broader push for greater transparency in the patent system. Reports at the time said it covered more than 40,000 patents held by Microsoft and its subsidiaries, with searches available by details such as patent title, number, country, and assigned entity. Microsoft also made the data available as a downloadable CSV file.

The project was connected to concerns about unclear patent ownership and abusive patent litigation. It did not replace official patent databases: users seeking full legal documents or detailed prosecution histories still needed resources from bodies such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The tool was specifically a corporate patent-portfolio tracker, rather than a general consumer technology product.