Software giant Microsoft recently announced it has signed a patent licensing agreement with e.solutions, a software firm that provides automotive applications for the Volkswagen Group.

According to Microsoft, the agreement is the first of its kind that the company has signed with any firm in the automotive sector. Under the arrangement, e.solutions will receive rights to Microsoft's most recent file system, called Extended File Allocation Table, or exFAT.

The file system enables a dramatic increase in the size of media files that can be stored on a range of consumer electronic devices, as well as increasing the speed at which they can be accessed. This is expected to be implemented in software designed to bring multimedia content to Volkswagen vehicles.

Micosoft claimed that the new licensing agreement is indicative of the company's commitment to collaboration in the field of intellectual property. According to the company, its "flexible" intellectual property licensing programs have given companies access to "foundational" technologies, enabling those businesses to "build devices, applications and services that work seamlessly with each other."

Microsoft has previously signed licensing agreements with a number of consumer electronics firms, including Panasonic, Sony, Olympus and Sanyo.