It'll do little to quell suggestions the firm makes more money from Google's OS than Windows Phone, but the unveiling of a patent agreement between Microsoft and Compal means at least 10 Android partners have now settled with the Redmond giant.
The latest deal will see Microsoft awarded royalties for all Android devices produced by the Taiwanese original design manufacturer (ODM), and crucially means firms responsible for more than half of all devices running Google platforms have entered into agreements with the company.
The specific financial details of the deal with Compal have not been disclosed, but it's unveiling comes on the back of a similar partnership announced with Samsung, which unified the two companies patent portfolios.
The license library
"We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Compal, one of the leaders in the original design manufacturing, or ODM, industry," said corporate VP and deputy general counsel for Microsoft's IP group, Horacio Gutierrez.
"Together with the license agreements signed in the past few months with Wistron and Quanta Computer, today's agreement with Compal means more than half of the worlds ODM industry for Android and Chrome devices is now under license to Microsofts patent portfolio."
Elsewhere on the firm's TechNet blog, Microsoft claimed it prefers to sign agreements with firms licensing its patent portfolio rather than take legal action, claiming the company itself has spent $4.5 billion to license patents from other companies a total of 1,133 agreements in all during the last decade.
In total, Microsoft now has patent agreements in place with 55 percent of the Android ODM market by revenue, and 53 percent of Android OEMs by units.
[source: Microsoft]
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Related Articles
News
Apr 12th, 2024
Week in Views - Mobile gets blanked at the BAFTAs, Apple goes retro and Nintendo pulls the plug
News
Apr 10th, 2024
Microsoft saves the day: Activision Blizzard games are set to return to China in new NetEase deal
Top Stories
Events
GameDev Atlantic 2024 | May 4th | |
LA Games Conference 2024 | North America | May 6th |
Mobidictum Meetup Berlin May 2024 | Europe | May 7th |
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |