Microsoft Corporation got its 10,00th U.S. patent this month for a technology used in computers that connects real-world objects with a set of data or images stored on a computer. >p>Curtis Wong, one of the inventors, was also listed a having received Microsoft's 5,000th patent, together with a colleague.

Microsoft employees who apply for a patent are given $1,500 and a cube with the details of their invention. After the patent is approved, the worker is given a plaque with a copy of the application's first page.

Microsoft, with the 10,000th patent to its name, is now among the top five patent recipients, although IBM has a larger number of patents issued.

Along with the surge in patents, Microsoft also experienced an increase in lawsuits. Microsoft chief patent counsel Bart Eppenauer said the increase came almost entirely from entities that do not manufacture, but are into acquiring and enforcing patents.

Last week Microsoft and Brother Industris inked a patent cross-licensing agreement which provides access to each company's patent portfolio, with the aim of enhancing one another's research and development efforts.