Microsoft Files Legal Action Against Samsung Over Android Patent Dispute 83
DroidJason1 writes: Microsoft has filed a contract dispute lawsuit against Samsung over what Microsoft claims is a breach of contract by Samsung involving Android patent royalties. Back in 2011, Samsung voluntarily entered into a legally binding contract with Microsoft in a cross-licensing IP agreement involving Android patents. Samsung has grown over the past few years and now believes that Microsoft's recent acquisition of Nokia nulls the agreement. Microsoft has gone to court and is asking to settle the disagreement with Samsung in order to continue the original agreement.
Change of circumstances/ (Score:4, Interesting)
A number of factors could have changed since 2011, apart from the possibility of patents expiring.
Samsung could have had a cross licensing agreement with Nokia, meaning Microsoft was getting paid twice. Also the US IP law has become more hostile to abstract patents, which probably form the bulk of Microsofts patent portfolio. Ironically Microsoft has probably picked up a bunch of Nokia patents, which may be much more useful in a patent slinging fight.
Re: Laugh all the way to the bank (Score:2, Interesting)
Whether you think Microsoft's position is meritless or not, Samsung entered into a contract with them. They didn't ask a court for a legal opinion, they just stopped paying. You can't make unilateral decisions like that. They know they're stuck and the courts will reinstate the payments, but their long-standing MO is to do something illegal and then keep other companies tied up in litigation until the point is moot or the other side has run out of money. I'm not even just talking about Appleâ"they've done this as long as they've been around.
Microsoft's success or failure in the market isn't relevant, and neither is your position on whether they're deserving of the patents that they hold. They own the patents, they're not latent trolls (in the sense that they're making devices in the space where they hold these patents), and the legal system works like this right now. Maybe at some other time and place Samsung would be in the clear both legally and morally, but they're sure not right now.
Timewarp to 2003 (Score:2, Interesting)
The execs at M$ are shitting their pants over the anticipation of their failed Vista 9...
Hold on there tiger. I admire your spunk, and if this was the heady days of the Desktop, your post makes sense....except this is the failure of Heavyweight OS Vista, Windows/Office/IE Monopoly+Lock-in ,anti GPL source, profit hungry CEO in the New Personal Computing which includes mobile. The old model model was so effective at crushing everyone, was so trivial to outmanoeuvre by Google who are more nimbler/cheaper/OS friendly/ and cant be bullied or bribed, and is a better partner than someone who is your *direct* competitor, and charges you for the privilege.
If Microsoft had created a lightweight OS,platform independent tools and split up, been License agnostic, and been innovation hungry, we wouldn't be in a discussion where Samsung is not interested in paying "in kind" for for Windows Phone licenses it doesn't want to use.
The irony of your post is you don't understand the $ is your Micro$oft, Vista 9(sic) or Windows 8.X whatever is not only a massive success (from revenue not technical perspective) it has turned back its plummeting sales....by throwing its current (XP) customers under the bus....classic Microsoft.
People all over are arguing the *new* boss is different, and some signs are (maybe) there, Office on Android...One OS(if it means the speculated modular OS), but this is not anything like Microsoft "Shitting their pants) this is Microsoft acting like the arrogant bullying monopolist...only without the stick of and carrot of being the only vendor. It is simply another competitor...and a small one...Samsung is more worried about those damned Chinese manufactures.