Microsoft has revealedChinese smartphone maker ZTE has become the latest firm to sign a patent licensedeal linked to its use of the Android and Chrome operating systems. Althoughboth systems are developed by Google, Microsoft claims to own intellectualproperty rights to some of the software's underlying technologies. It comes aweek after a similar deal was struck with manufacturer Foxconn. Huawei andGoogle's own hardware units remain hold-outs.
Microsoft said that 80%of Android smartphones sold in the US and a majority worldwide were now coveredunder licensing agreements. The Redmond-based firm added that it had itselfpaid out more than £2.6bn ($4bn) over the past decade to cover itsuse of others' inventions.
Licensee list lengthens
According tothe Foss patents blog, ZTE marks the 20th device maker known to havesigned an Android license deal with the Windows developer. Microsoft haspreviously said the technologies involved included methods to make Androiddevices surf the web quickly and control the way users interact with documentsand ebooks.
Microsoft has alreadysigned royalty agreements with HTC, Samsung, LG, Sharp and Acer. It added HonHai - parent company of device assembler Foxconn - to that list on 16 April inan agreement that covers any client who uses one of the Taiwanese firm'sfactories.
A deal with Huawei -which makes Ascend-branded Android devices - may also be on the cards: theShenzhen-based firm revealed it had begun talks with Microsoft in an interviewgiven to the BBC in November 2011.
However, it may be leftto the courts to decide whether Google also needs to agree to a deal - or ifMicrosoft's patent claims are overstated.
Google hasaccused Microsoft of staging unjustified "anti-competitivepatent attacks" against its mobile operating system and said itsacquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2012 would help it "protect" theAndroid ecosystem thanks to it gaining extra patents of its own. However, thetakeover and subsequent decision to build its own laptop - the Chromebook Pixel- expose it to litigation since it now makes devices of its own.
According to FossPatents, Microsoft is pursuing more than two dozen related patent infringementclaims against Google in the US and others in Germany. Google has also madeseparate infringement claims of its own against Microsoft.
(Source: BBCNews 2013-04-24)