Slashdot Mirror
Samsung Paid Microsoft $1 Billion Last Year In Android Royalties
An anonymous reader writes: According to recently unsealed court filings, Samsung Electronics paid Microsoft more than $1 billion in annual fees to use patented Microsoft technology in Samsung's Android phones. The patent treasures include methods for displaying multiple windows in a Web browser. "Samsung originally signed its patent deal with Microsoft in 2011, ahead of its impressive dominance of Android shipments, but late last year Samsung decided it was tired of paying on time, or paying interest when a late payment was finally made. Microsoft has taken Samsung to court over the issues, and the Korean company insists it wants to walk away from the original deal because of Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia’s phone business. Samsung claims the acquisition invalidates the cross-licensing IP agreement, but Microsoft doesnt agree and wants the company to pay $6.9 million in unpaid interest from last year."
google 'invents' ideas and concepts and calls them Open... when they are thought of and done before hand and long ago
What the large monies paid by Samsung indicates is the enormous mindshare and marketshare for Android. Windows on the mobile and tablet space is non-existent. For some years Microsoft might make money out of Android sales using these patent threats, being the litigious thugs they are.
But in a few years - say three at the max, Android makers will realise that these patents are really worthless, and back away from their agreements.
In any case a few billions in patent royalty is pocket change for Microsoft, and their bloated manpower will plunge them into the death spiral since Windows is becoming fast irrelevant in the only space it serves - viz, the desktop.
If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
This reminds me of a John Connor quote from the movie Terminator 2:
"Easy money!"
I am not really here right now.
For all those preaching for a united Linux to face off against the gorilla, it is the diversity which has kept Linux alive.
Even though patents are public record, why is "the Microsoft list" secret, and why does only the Chinese publish this list on the Web? I Googled around and no other web site puts a list of these patents out except for the Chinese. I'm curious on exactly what technology does Microsoft have that makes this so special?
Having not used a Microsoft product since DOS 6 upgrade, this is a reason I can not buy an android phone. However, I have a excellent Jolla phone so not a major problem. http://stevesstats.blogspot.co... Microsoft should sue Google if they believe they are being hard dun by, and not blackmail.
Technically, does that make Microsoft a patent troll?
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
"On a computer" is a magical phrase. If no one has patented it yet, it's fair game - everything on a computer is novel to the patent office.
Not anymore since the US Supreme Court's verdict in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank.
The "patents" have been revealed in recent times and are not very good quality, esp. in light of the in re Bilsky decision by the Supreme Court. Quite simply put, they're paying danegeld to Microsoft in exchange for avoiding a costly litigation- the thing is...now they're in one anyhow. So they should man up and butt heads with Microsoft and do in this extortion bullshit once and for all.
I also think that this has nothing to do with MS or the royalties to MS. I think it has to do with Apple. Samsung, for some reason, gave MS a sweetheart deal on the thinnest of evidence. Samsung did not go to court, wait for google, but just paid MS a reletively large amount of cash for every handset sold. This tells me that there was so backroom negotiations going on, possible lawfully questionable negotiations. This, probably, is negatively effecting the Apple situation because if they were so eager to give MS money, why are they fighting Apple on claims that are at least as good? Which means that whatever possible underhanded deal Samsung made with MS is no longer paying off.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
The patents aren't valid anyway, they're all garbage, just like Apple's - stolen ideas thrown on paper.
Our phones would cost half as much if not for them.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Only patent holders suing everyone for the right to never produce anything.
"late last year Samsung decided it was tired of paying on time, or paying interest when a late payment was finally made."
Microsoft own Nokia now which interfaces with their precious Samsung offering Windows phone. I've seen the same pettiness from their popular mobile messenger application - Kakao Talk. It now doesn't get updated on Windows Mobile.
Maybe Microsoft should just throw their shit country overboard. It's a country completely run on pirate versions of Windows in academia, government and the home. Time to throw those parasitic dogs overboard really.
This is a hugely important story. That's because the android royalties rescued Microsoft, and have done enormous damage to Samsung.
When Microsoft was going around threatening to sue various android phone oem's, it was in desperate financial shape and couldn't afford to develop new software. The android royalties basically paid for Windows 8, which, as everyone knows, has been a huge success.
Besides that, at the time android was clobbering Windows Phone. The royalties made android phones so expensive that their market share plummeted, and Windows Phone was able to take over the number one place in market share and profitability.
As for Samsung's claim that buying Nokia voids the agreement, that is nonsense. As was widely reported at the time of the negotiations, Microsoft clearly told Samsung that it was planning on purchasing Nokia in a few years.
The patent royalty strategy basically saved Microsoft, and it is perhaps the chief reason that it's creator, Steve Balmer, has just been signed on to a long contract as CEO.
I've had it since 2002 and other than the lack of a functional battery it's still running strong.
Honestly pricing seems to have little to do with build quality dating back to the mid 90s at least.