In 1980, the signing of a historic agreement between the giant IBM and a young company named Microsoft was set to change the face of modern computing forever. To equip its very first personal computer (the IBM PC), the American manufacturer chose to trust Microsoft to provide the operating system: the future MS-DOS.
Beyond the industrial anecdote, this event holds a fundamental lesson in intellectual property strategy: Bill Gates negotiated a decisive clause allowing him to retain the software rights, enabling Microsoft to license MS-DOS to all other manufacturers.
This partnership highlights the importance of properly negotiating licenses right from the start: retaining control over your IP rights and titles often proves to be the true leverage that turns a simple collaboration into a global success story.