Microsoft Accused Samsung On Violating Patent Agreement

This time its opponent is Microsoft, not Apple. And yes once again Samsung is back in court over a patent dispute. Microsoft accused the South Korean Smartphone maker of neglecting to pay Android licensing fees in violation of a patent agreement reached by the two firms in 2011. Under the agreement, Samsung is required to pay a royalty for every Android-powered Smartphone it sells.

Microsoft also declares that Samsung has been in breach of contract for the past 11 months. Microsoft deputy general counsel David Howard wrote in a blog post that “After becoming the leading player in the worldwide Smartphone market, Samsung decided late last year to stop complying with its agreement with Microsoft. In September 2013, after Microsoft announced it was acquiring the Nokia Devices and Services business, Samsung began using the acquisition as an excuse to breach its contract. Curiously, Samsung did not ask the court to decide whether the Nokia acquisition invalidated its contract with Microsoft, likely because it knew its position was meritless. Microsoft and Samsung have a long history of collaboration. Microsoft values and respects our partnership with Samsung and expects it to continue. We are simply asking the Court to settle our disagreement, and we are confident the contract will be enforced.”

Samsung has not commented yet on this matter. Some other brands that make Android devices — including ZTE, LG, HTC, Acer and Barnes & Noble — have also signed agreements with Microsoft to avoid patent lawsuits. Although Google is the creator of the Android platform, Microsoft holds the patents. Microsoft maintains that the codes Google uses for Android and Chrome copy its technology, violating its patents. Google has called these patents “bogus.”