Microsoft is painting the licensing agreement with Samsung regarding Android as a positive sign of how intellectual property can drive innovation and collaboration. Google sees it a different way: it said that Microsoft is resorting to extortion.
In a message e-mailed to the press, Google said:
This is the same tactic we’ve seen time and again from Microsoft. Failing to succeed in the smartphone market, they are resorting to legal measures to extort profit from others’ achievements and hinder the pace of innovation. We remain focused on building new technology and supporting Android partners.
This is far from the first licensing deal Microsoft has signed with an Android device manufacturer, as it makes about $5 from every Android-powered HTC device that’s sold, reportedly. In fact, Microsoft probably generates more revenues from Android licensing deals than it does from selling Windows Phone licences.
It’s interesting to note that Microsoft hasn’t directly sued Google for patent infringements in Android but has instead gone after manufacturers of devices. Google is trying to spend more than $12 billion to buy Motorola in part because it believes the intellectual property it gains will enable it to better protect Android in the courts.
[Via TechCrunch, photo: Shutterstock – Alexander Galai]