Microsoft signs Android patent deal with LG, leaving Motorola and Barnes & Noble as key outliers

Microsoft's lawyers continue to shake down the wallets of Android and Chrome OEMs.

It's confirmed its most recent agreement over patent usage - it's tenth deal to-date - is with LG.

This means that alongside the likes of Samsung, HTC and Acer, Microsoft now has more than 70 percent of Android manufacturers signed up.

Intellectual protection

But not all companies are being so co-operative.

Microsoft currently has an outstanding case with Barnes & Noble over its Nook devices, while Chinese outfit Huawei confirmed in November it had been tapped up by Redmond's lawyers over its Android devices. It's thought that case is yet to be settled.

The big one, however, is with Motorola, which is in the process of being bought by Google, making it a significant case with high powered legal eagles and very deep pockets on both sides of the table.

On the dotted line

"We are pleased to have built upon our longstanding relationship with LG to reach a mutually beneficial agreement," said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, Intellectual Property Group at Microsoft.

"We are proud of the continued success of our program in resolving the IP issues surrounding Android and Chrome OS."

Microsoft is thought to be generating large sums of cash from this licensing activity, with rumours suggesting HTC alone is paying it $5 per Android device it ships.

Conversely, Microsoft has spent around $4.5 billion licensing patents over the past decade.

[source: Microsoft]