May 1, 2012 - Microsoft has settled the patent infringement lawsuit it filed against Barnes and Noble last year, and the two companies have formed a new, as-yet-unnamed Barnes & Noble subsidiary currently referred to as "Newco."
Under the settlement agreement, Microsoft will invest $300 million in Barnes & Noble's new college book business and digital bookstore. Barnes & Noble will own about 82.4 percent of Newco, with Microsoft taking the remaining 17.6 percent.
Both Newco and Barnes & Noble will have a royalty-bearing license under the e-reader patents Microsoft had claimed the Nook and Nook Tablet infringed, and there will be a Nook application for Windows 8 that will add to the customer base that can purchase e-books, magazines and newspapers from Barnes & Noble's digital bookstore.