Microsoft Gets Royalties from 55% of the Android Ecosystem

55%??
That's absurd.

pure win for Microsoft. They are the smart one, they make profit while keeping relations good with others and do not participate in anti innovation tactics such as Apple.

Microsoft has been and always be a technology world powerhouse, even if Windows were to lose all of it's market share.

They basically founded the modern software world, and anyone else who enters the market is simply building on their intellectual foundation.

Microsoft with an army of lawyers is just another patent troll with allot cash.

Billy boy ripped off DOS and copied windows from Apple and Atari.

Harsh world - money grabbing society. If you want to plan to be at the top, expect many people trying to take your money from you or try to grab a share of the profit.

They seem to be reasonable enough to come to agreements that both sides agree with. I don't see anything wrong with that. If they didn't come to agreements, they'd likely leave themselves open to be attacked as well. They seem to be playing it smart in my opinion.

just out of curiosity, how come google have no problem paying MS but are in load of trouble with Apple?

Maybe that is what ticked off Jobs.

The thing is. Microsoft are successful though. They've worked hard to get that money and secure the patent rights etc(Do I agree with it? Ofc not). But the point is, they've won

What have apple accomplished? Nothing.... suing everyone gets you no where

They have no troubles because MS doesn't desire to run Google out of business. Apple is unwilling to settle. Apple does not want to settle. Apple or Jobs at least, want to run Google into the ground.

That is totally untrue. The reason for these settlements is because no one is stupid enough to stand up to Microsoft. They know they will lose to MS and their high priced lawyers so instead of fighting they agree to MS'es high priced settlements because it's a lot cheaper than going to the courts.

I'm pretty sure google could stand up to them. Just like they do Apple.

Microsoft are clever enough to start at the table, rather than the court room

How do you know this? It's not like they wanted to fight Apple either. Apple just was unwilling to settle. MS is willing.

Actually he wrote DOS. It was Apple who claimed to have invented the graphic based interface.... but they paid Bill Gates to create it.... LOL

^ DOS was created by IBM before becoming MS-DOS. And Apple bought graphic interface from Xerox. Just sayin'.

we all can spend the night here sayin who's right about who created DOS & Windows...DOS was an OS from IBM for their 16bit's IBM PC's...then Xerox came with the "Desk metaphor GUI"...that was in the end of the 70's on the 72 an DM came out for the mighty Commodore 64 and in the 84 the concept took off after steve jobs "genuine idea" of Mac OS...of course we all know the "rumor" that on the exact same day at the exact same hour the guy from PARC where making a Desk Metaphor presentation for Bill Gates in seattle and Steve Jobs in Palo Alto.

So Dos is from IBM, Microsoft turned it into MS-Dos, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates had an presentation of Desk Metaphor, Jobs launched MAC OS in 1984 and Bill Gates Windows 1 in 1985...then Jobs started cryin' around about the "ripoff" that both done not only for Xerox but from SUN also...i don't know when Atari comes into this :S?

Makes you wonder why MS is wasting so much time and money on Windows Phone when they could just me making money off of Android instead.

WP7 is pretty damn good. I'm a linux kid, with a windows phone. I don't really give M$ credit for much.... but WP7? not too bad...

For those who think that Billy got DOS from IBM, you are just plain wrong. In fact IBM contracted Billy to develop it out of house. Billy got DOS (QDOS) from Seattle Computer Products and started modifying it (mostly done by MS's Bob O'Rear) to meet IBM's specifications. PC-DOS and MS-DOS were developed in parallel. IBM wrote the requirements and MS wrote and modified the code.

This is very bad reporting. What part of Android does anybody need to licence?

While they are getting royalties on 55% of the ecosystem, I doubt it's much of the total profits or nearly as much as they could be getting from their own system.

Let's hope Microsoft will get a 100% compliance rate soon. Their patents should be protected.

nice potent passive patent income for MS

Just think about this next time you pay for that Android phone. Some of that money is going to pay Microsoft and they did nothing to make that a better product for you.

So even if you are choosing a competing product, you are still funding/paying Microsoft. No wonder Ballmer is such a clown, because he can be.

I'm sure a few of those patents were inventions of theirs.

MS have not proven that they really own the contested patent. These companies just chicken out of court cost.

I hope there will be a company who will stand up to this as it will get the ball rolling the other side... Miss the years when M$ loss a lot of patent fight against linux...

They bought DOS and legally resold it, and, in the end, ended up paying its creation vast sums of $ anyways.

I think MS licensees Windows Phone OS for a sum of 15-20 USD. And they "license" patents to Android manufacturers for about the same amount. It's obvious extortion and nothing else. I bet they are trying to make them move to Windows Phone OS.

i don't understand. why is microsoft getting paid for google's android? i suspect some kind of uber-lawyering at work here.

I think MS owns the patent for the actual file system in use. I know they have said that they own a few patents that they allow linux to use FOC. I was pretty sure the file system was one of them and that is probably the easiest to prove and get money from. I could be wrong though... lol troll!

From a DT piece I was reading:
"Microsoft sits in second place with over 2,300 patents that seemingly apply to Android."