Olympus America and Leica Microsystems have signed a nonexclusive worldwide licensing agreement providing Leica access to Olympus’ portfolio of digital pathology and virtual microscopy patents.

The patents included in the licensing deal cover methods and equipment for creating, storing and delivering virtual microscopy slides, which enable individuals to view and share high-resolution virtual microscopy images over the Internet.

Center Valley, Penn.-based Olympus and Weztlar, Germany-based Leica are not making specific terms and conditions of the agreement public.