ZTE, a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company signed a patent license deal for its use of the Android and Chrome operating systems with Microsoft. According to the author, this Chinese company has agreed to pay Microsoft royalties for such devices, similar to Hon Hai.
This is once again bad news for Google. As I mentioned last week, Google has yet to admit that their products are infringing on Microsoft's patents. In fact, although one billion Android devices would be in use by the end of this year, the majority of those sales will be involved with Microsoft, since around twenty different companies have taken third-party Android patent licenses!
Likewise to the author of this article, I wonder when Motorola Mobility will show up on this list of Microsoft's patent deals. Microsoft is already claiming that Google is infringing on their patents, but Google keeps fighting back by making separate infringement claims of its own. I wonder how high the chances of Google are to avoid another huge loss.
http://www.fosspatents.com/2013/04/just-like-one-week-ago-when-foxconn.html
to me it is just amazing how 80% of Android smartphones sold in the U.S. and a huge chunk of those sold internationally are covered under agreements with Microsoft.
ReplyDeletealso the fact that more companies and more complex gov't authories (including those asian ones -> ZTE is largely controlled by government agencies, google this) have joined the pack makes it seems like everybody has taken its stance, thinking google can't protect its own stuff and is likely to lose in litigation against microsoft
More bad news for Google. I just can't believe so much of Android's IP is intertwined with Microsoft.
ReplyDeleteI think collecting money from those companies are not the only goal Microsoft wants to get, the most important thing is to advertise its Windows phone through the process. I wonder whether it is going to change anything if Google can stand out to fight against Microsoft directly for those 21 Android user companies.
ReplyDeleteGoogle has been getting a lot of bad press lately. I wonder how they are going to turn it around.
ReplyDeleteI'd say their chances of avoiding another loss is slim. They took a misstep when deciding to purchase the patent portfolio of Motorola. So far, it has not played out well concerning those patents in litigation nor are they seeming to distance themselves in anyway from Microsoft or Apple. Google has enough money where in the long run it shouldn't be a problem, but it's still plenty of bad PR as of late for the search giant.
ReplyDeleteit seems like Google has been taking such hits because it is taking more risks. It is definitely one of the big giants in the world, and it seems like Google is trying to leverage its size to win the war ultimately. This might have caused them to take a little more risk, which have been against their favor. However, Google might have lost small a few battles, but winning the war is the ultimate goal and its strong foundation allows it to be able to absorb such defeats.
ReplyDeleteYou have to give Microsoft's intellectual property and licensing team some credit for this success if they are getting so many royalties from these sales. Once again, bad news for Google.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Noah in giving Microsoft's litigation team success, but even the Chinese companies like Hon Hai need to get credit where its due. Litigation can make and break even the largest tech companies in the industry and this is proof of that.
ReplyDeleteGoogle has entered a highly competitive world when it decided to launch Android. Microsoft is one of the biggest players in the tech market, and has been in it for a long time. It will be impossible for Google to fight against such a giant without any losses.
ReplyDeleteGoogle is indeed taking a lot of hits nowadays. Microsoft on the other hand is doing a great job of securing royalties for its intellectual property.
ReplyDelete