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Bad Microsoft Android patents may lie behind Samsung lawsuit

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At this point, it’s hard to say exactly what’s going on in Microsoft’s patent contract dispute with Samsung. The two companies may just be fighting out their contract terms or it could be the first shot at Microsoft’s Android patent portfolio.

Microsoft’s heavily redacted lawsuit was filed on August 1st in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York. In a blog posting by David Howard, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, claimed that the two companies have “a fundamental disagreement as to the meaning of our contract.”

Specifically, Microsoft claims that since Samsung’s Android business has exploded from 82 million Android smartphones in 2011 to 314 million Android smartphones, “Samsung decided late last year to stop complying with its agreement with Microsoft.”

This agreement had been the biggest of Microsoft’s Android patent wins. These deals may make Microsoft as much as two billion dollars a year, more than five times what Windows Phone brings in.

Bad Microsoft Android patents may lie behind Samsung lawsuit. More>

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