According to reports, software bigwig Microsoft and cloud computing firm Salesforce.com have decided to settle their patent-infringement scuffle, with Salesforce agreeing to pay an undisclosed amount to Microsoft.

Each of the two companies had filed lawsuits against the other in US court, alleging violation of patented technology. While Microsoft, in its May-filed lawsuit, had argued that Salesforce had violated nine of its patents pertaining to building websites without coding, remote software calls, mapping between logical and physical data, the placement of objects on a screen, and control of the display; Salesforce claimed in a June-file suit that parts of Microsoft’s Windows Azure and Windows 7 violated five of its patents.

Noting that the terms of the settlement deal will give both the firms the rights to use the other’s technology; Microsoft’s Corporate VP Horacio Gutierrez said that his company was pleased to end its patent duel with Salesforce.com.

Gutierrez further added that the Microsoft-Salesforce settlement shows that rival companies can respect each other’s intellectual property rights, even in the face of intense competition in the marketplace.

Furthermore, in a characteristic non-committal language of settlement, Microsoft said in a third person statement: “Microsoft indicated that it is being compensated by Salesforce.com based on the strength of Microsoft's leading patent portfolio in the areas of operating systems, cloud services and customer relationship management software.”