Microsoft announces Android-related patent deal

Xinhua, September 29, 2011

Microsoft on Wednesday announced a broad cross-licensing patent agreement with Samsung, the biggest Android-related patent deal to date.

Under the agreement, Microsoft will get royalty revenue on every smartphone and tablet running Google's Android mobile operating system that Samsung sells.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In July, U.S. media reports citing Korean media said Microsoft wanted Samsung to pay 10 to 15 U.S. dollars for each Android device. Samsung has sold more than 10 million Galaxy S II smartphones since its launch in May, which means that the Korean phone maker could have to pay Microsoft royalty fees totaling 100 million dollars.

Last April, Washington-based software giant Redmond, also signed a license deal with another major Android smartphone maker HTC.

Microsoft said in a blog post on Wednesday that together with the agreement with HTC, the deal with Samsung means that the top two Android handset manufacturers in the United States have acquired licenses to Microsoft's patent portfolio. Samsung and HTC accounted for more than half of all Android phones sold in the U.S. over the past year, according to Microsoft.

"That leaves Motorola Mobility, with which Microsoft is currently in litigation, as the only major Android smartphone manufacturer in the U.S. without a license," the blog post noted.

Last October, Microsoft filed suits against Motorola with the U. S. International Trade Commission and the federal court in Seattle, alleging that several Motorola's Android phones infringe on Microsoft's patents.

Microsoft noted in the blog that its deals with Samsung and HTC can be used as a model for the industry, saying "they show that can be achieved when companies sit down and address intellectual property issues in a responsible manner."