https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/10/microsoft-adds-60000-patents-to-the-open-invention-network/

Microsoft announced today that it’s joined open-source patent group, the Open Invention Network in an effort to help shield Linux and other open-source software from patent-related suits. As part of the deal, the software giant is opening a library of 60,000 patents to OIN members. Access to the massive portfolio is unlimited and royalty free.

It is, as ZDNET notes, a shift away from the aggressively litigious corporation of year’s past. Among other suits, the company had previously gone after a number of different companies in the Android ecosystem. Microsoft acknowledges as much in its announcement, adding that the news should be taken as a sign that its turning over a new leaf.