Microsoft to Samsung: $15 Per Android Device
Samsung is battling tech giants left and right. Amidst its battle with Apple over the design of its Galaxy line, reports emerged today that Microsoft is demanding that Samsung pay licensing fees that would reportedly work out to $15 per Android-based device.
Microsoft wants Samsung to pay up to $15 for every Android-based handset it produces, according to sources quoted by the Maeil Business Newspaper. Samsung, however, will likely pursue a smaller, $10 charge in exchange for deeper integration with Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, the paper said, as reported by Reuters.
ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, however, speculated that the $15 price tag is "Microsoft's saber-rattling price." It's likely intended to "scare Android vendors into signing onto the growing list of Android OEMs who've decided it's safer to settle than fight Microsoft over its IP claims," she wrote.
Microsoft holds patents relating to navigation and how Web sites display content; technology used on the Android platform, according to the software giant. In March, it filed suit against Barnes & Noble for patent infringement regarding the retailer's Android-based Nook e-readers.
In April 2010, Microsoft and HTC jointly announced a patent deal that will provide "broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for HTC's mobile phones running the Android mobile platform."
Foley said the HTC deal is reportedly in the $5 per device range, while Barnes & Noble said Microsoft was trying to charge it double the normal rate. "Let's pretend the double-per-device royalty B&N mentioned is the $15 that Microsoft is supposedly seeking from Samsung. That would mean the 'regular' Microsoft royalty payment per Android phone would be in the $7 range," she wrote.
Earlier this week, Microsoft inked a licensing deal with Taipei-based Wistron for tablets, phones, e-readers, and other devices running Android and Chrome.
