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Microsoft Makes an Astonishing $2 Billion Per Year From Android Patent Royalties

Posted by Soulskill on from the isn't-innovation-wonderful dept.

mrspoonsi sends this report from Business Insider: "Microsoft is generating $2 billion per year in revenue from Android patent royalties, says Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund in a new note on the company. He estimates that the Android revenue has a 95% margin, so it's pretty much all profit. This money, says Sherlund, helps Microsoft hide the fact that its mobile and Xbox groups are burning serious cash."

3 of 304 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Two billion bucks... by ledow · · Score: 5, Informative

    However the test used in the patent systems worldwide tends to be along the lines:

    "to one skilled in the art".

    i.e. if it's blindingly obvious to someone who does similar work all day long, professionally, every day, then it shouldn't actually be patentable at all.

  2. Re:They finally made money out of Linux. by melikamp · · Score: 4, Informative

    I am not even going to argue with you about "innovations in computing", what with the best OS to date written by a Finn. How about this instead:

    Empirically, the nation with the strongest army is also the nation that is responsible for most of the innovations in computing.

    Empirically, the nation with the largest inmate population (both absolute and relative to population size) is also the nation that is responsible for most of the innovations in computing.

    Empirically, the nation with the highest healthcare costs (both absolute and relative to GDP) is also the nation that is responsible for most of the innovations in computing.

  3. Re:Gates was on the right track.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Most of the intellectual property (basically just FAT licenses) actually came from the windows division. If you want your phone to plug into a windows machine you pay the short ugly looking character at the bridge.