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Samsung Paid Microsoft $1 Billion Last Year In Android Royalties

Posted by Soulskill on from the let's-release-this-on-a-Friday dept.

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."

5 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. Nevertheless, Microsoft is doomed by jkrise · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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....
    1. Re:Nevertheless, Microsoft is doomed by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      My company's position (it's not that large, only about a $2.5B company) is that patents are for defensive purposes. They don't seem to really think they could use them to keep the competition from copying one of our products. They're much more concerned that we can't develop products without infringing on somebody's patent and being vulnerable to being sued and they want to have a big collection of patents they could use to negotiate better licensing terms or stave off a suit.

  2. Samsung should just work to invalidate them... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

  3. MS losing money? by fermion · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I have often suspected that part of the reason that MS continues to make a phone is so it won't be accused of being a patent troll. If it is making phones, then it is not just trying to monetized a portfolio by attacking others who are doing the real work. I suspect the Surface is the same issue, and the the two might actually be breaking even given royalties.

    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
  4. Re:And? by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The smartphone/tablet explosion has led to a decline in the PC market but it's still 80-90% of the max volume with Microsoft still having a 90%+ PC market share.

    Problem is the PC market is long saturated and now showing obvious signs of decline. Meanwhile, Microsoft has little to no presence in ANYTHING that is replacing it. Think what Apple was prior to iPod/Pad/Phone; that's Microsoft's future if things continue on the present course.

    And unless any of the major Android manufacturers decide to get serious about x86 then Microsoft and Intel will still be allies in the struggle against Android/Apple

    From what I understand, Intel is working towards riding the Android train, and they supposedly have more engineers working on Android than even Google does. Their idea is to have x86 eventually replace ARM as the de-facto architecture of Android, which involves a two way race of getting Android to run more efficiently on x86, and then build x86 to be more energy efficient than ARM. It seems they already have a lot invested into both of those races.

    Also, HP seems to be pushing rather aggressively to have Android run on business desktop systems. Lenovo, ASUS, and Acer seem to have similar goals, though not as much as HP.