Samsung Paid Microsoft $1Bn For Android Patent Licenses Last Year | TechTree.com

Samsung Paid Microsoft $1Bn For Android Patent Licenses Last Year

It's an awkward situation where Microsoft makes money off the success of rival Google's mobile OS

 

Microsoft makes money off Android patent licensing agreements, which makes for an awkward situation where the Redmond company is benefited by the success of rival Google's mobile OS. However, we now have a number of how much Microsoft earns via royalties, with smartphone giant Samsung paying the company $1 billion last year.

Given that Samsung is the largest seller of Android smartphones, the amount it pays in royalties to Microsoft are simply massive, and Samsung seems to think so too. The pair signed a cross-licensing and business collaboration agreement in 2011, but a tussle over interests on a late payment has landed the two in court.

The soup only gets thicker, as Samsung now wants to walk away from the agreement because of Microsoft's purchase of Nokia, which could in the future could pose a threat to Samsung's dominance. The software giant on the other hand is having nothing of that and wants to get paid $6.9 million in unpaid interest from last year.

What's really awkward is that Samsung still remains to be one of Microsoft's hardware partners, building phones, tablets and PCs running on Windows OS. It's odd that the two companies would put their partnership on the line over $6.9 million, but the case seems to be more on the lines of Samsung not wanting to pay Microsoft the $1 billion in royalties.

"We are confident that our case is strong and that we will be successful," said David Howard, Deputy General Counsel at Microsoft. "At the same time, Microsoft values and respects our long partnership with Samsung, is committed to it, and expects it to continue."


TAGS: Samsung, Microsoft, Google, Android

 
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