Microsoft (MSFT) on Monday revealed plans to sell Facebook 650 of the patents and patent applications it is purchasing from AOL (AOL) for $550 million. 

In addition to the patents Facebook will own outright, the social-media giant will also get a license to utilize ones that that Microsoft will purchase and own, the two companies said in a statement. Microsoft  said the deal will help it regain more than half of the costs associated with the deal with AOL, while still helping it achieve the goal of the purchase. 

Facebook General Counsel Ted Ullyot said in a statement that the move represents a "significant step in our ongoing process of building an intellectual property portfolio to protect Facebook's interests over the long term."